Basketball Game Preview: Cotopaxi Pirates vs. Rangely Panthers

The Cotopaxi Pirates will take on the Rangely Panthers in a tournament on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

Cotopaxi is headed into the game after thoroughly thrashing Cripple Creek-Victor: they outscored them in every quarter. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Cotopaxi blew Cripple Creek-Victor out of the water with a 44-17 final score. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Pirates.

Meanwhile, Rangely put another one in the bag on Saturday to keep their perfect season alive. They breezed past Grand Valley to the tune of 54-15. Given the Panthers' advantage in MaxPreps' Colorado basketball rankings (they are ranked 54th in Colorado, while the Cardinals are ranked 248th in Colorado), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Cotopaxi better keep an eye on Miah Wren. She was instrumental in Rangely's win, putting up 17 points and six steals. The match was Wren's 12th in a row with at least 17 points. Another player making a difference was Ashlynn Ducey, who posted 12 points in addition to five assists and four steals.

Rangely smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 11 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 11 offensive rebounds in 14 consecutive contests.

Rangely's victory was their 19th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 21-0. The wins came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 23.8 points over those games. As for Cotopaxi, their win bumped their record up to 14-6.