Basketball Game Preview: Pecos Panthers vs. Tucumcari Rattlers

Two dominant guards in Natalia Stout and Caylee Benavidez are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Pecos Panthers will be playing in front of their home fans against the Tucumcari Rattlers at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. Tucumcari took a loss in their last match and will be looking to turn the tables on Pecos, who comes in off a win.

Last Friday, Pecos strolled past Escalante with points to spare, taking the game 45-29. Given the Panthers' advantage in MaxPreps' New Mexico basketball rankings (they are ranked 37th, while the Lobos are ranked 134th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Meanwhile, after a string of five wins, Tucumcari's good fortune finally ran out on Friday. They fell just short of Goddard by a score of 63-61.

Pecos will have to contain Benavidez as she made an impact in Tucumcari's last game. She dropped a double-double on 30 points and ten rebounds. With that strong performance, Benavidez is now averaging an impressive 15.3 points per game. Another player making a difference was July Lafferty, who went 6 of 9 on her way to 13 points in addition to eight boards and five assists.

Even though they lost, Tucumcari smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in 42 consecutive games dating back to last season.

Pecos is on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight contests, which provided a nice bump to their 11-5 record this season. As for Tucumcari, their defeat ended a 14-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 11-4.

Pecos strolled past Tucumcari when the teams last played back in February of 2022 by a score of 54-40. Will Pecos repeat their success, or does Tucumcari have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.