Preview: Tanque Verde Hawks vs. Sahuaro Cougars
Tanque Verde is 0-3 against Sahuaro since November of 2018 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Wednesday. The Tanque Verde Hawks will be playing at home against the Sahuaro Cougars at 7:00 p.m. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Tanque Verde scored the most points they've had all season to find success on Friday. They really took it to San Miguel for the full four quarters, racking up a 56-13 win on the road. For those curious, yes, that was the biggest win Tanque Verde has managed all season.
Tanque Verde's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Layla O'Rourke-Slone led the charge by scoring 12 points along with nine rebounds and four steals. The game was O'Rourke-Slone's fifth in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Bella Gooch, who scored nine points along with five steals.
Meanwhile, Sahuaro put another one in the bag on Monday to keep their perfect season alive. They walked away with a 58-48 win over American Leadership Academy. Despite the win, that was the fewest points Sahuaro has scored all season.
Cassandra Coolidge was her usual excellent self, scoring 29 points along with six assists and six rebounds. That makes it six consecutive games in which Coolidge has scored at least 25% of Sahuaro's points. Ny'Anza Brown was another key contributor, scoring 12 points along with five rebounds.
Tanque Verde now has a winning record of 3-2. As for Sahuaro, their win bumped their record up to 6-0.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Tanque Verde have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 33.8 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Sahuaro struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 27 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Tanque Verde took a serious blow against Sahuaro when the teams last played back in December of 2022, falling 93-16. The matchup was all but decided by halftime, at which point Tanque Verde was down 54-7.
