Preview: Rincon/University Rangers vs. Tucson High Magnet School Badgers
Rincon/University is 2-8 against Tucson High Magnet School since January of 2018 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Rincon/University Rangers will be playing at home against the Tucson High Magnet School Badgers at 7:00 p.m. Hopefully Rincon/University focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 16 on Tuesday.
Rincon/University unfortunately witnessed the end of their four-game winning streak. They took a 47-43 hit to the loss column at the hands of Sunnyside. Rincon/University has struggled against Sunnyside recently, as their match on Tuesday was their fourth consecutive lost matchup.
Despite the loss, Rincon/University had strong showings from Leila O'Dowd, who dropped a double-double on 15 points and 12 rebounds, and Daphne Safo, who scored 13 points along with seven rebounds and two blocks. That was a full 34.9% of Rincon/University's points, marking the ninth time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points. Jada Cameron was another key contributor, scoring four points along with three steals.
Meanwhile, Tucson High Magnet School came tearing into Tuesday's contest with five straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 13.2 points) and they left with even more momentum. They took down Marana 56-37. Given Tucson High Magnet School's advantage in MaxPreps' Arizona basketball rankings (they are ranked 99th, while Marana is ranked 213th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Rincon/University now has a losing record at 10-11. As for Tucson High Magnet School, they have been performing well recently as they've won nine of their last 12 contests, which provided a nice bump to their 12-8 record this season.
Rincon/University ended up a good deal behind Tucson High Magnet School in their previous matchup back in January of 2023, losing 60-46. Thankfully for Rincon/University, Gabriella Sanchez (who dropped a double-double on 38 points and 15 rebounds) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
