Basketball Game Preview: Willow Canyon Wildcats vs. Carl Hayden Community Falcons

The Willow Canyon Wildcats will face off against the Carl Hayden Community Falcons at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Willow Canyon knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 55 points or more in their past ten contests -- so hopefully Carl Hayden Community likes a good challenge.

Willow Canyon heads in on the heels of a playoff matchup last Wednesday. They took an 86-75 hit to the loss column at the hands of Hamilton. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their prior game two weeks ago (56), the Wildcats still had to take the loss.

Kaleel Kelly

Steals

02/19/25 vs Hamilton	3
02/13/25 @ Ironwood	2
02/07/25 vs Sunrise Mountain	3
02/04/25 @ Kellis	2
01/29/25 vs Centennial	2
01/27/25 vs Ironwood	4

Despite their defeat, Willow Canyon saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Kaleel Kelly, who went 7-for-12 on his way to 20 points along with five assists and three steals, was perhaps the best of all. Kelly is on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in each of the last six games he's played. Another player making a difference was Daniel Garza, who posted ten points in addition to eight assists and three steals.

Meanwhile, Carl Hayden Community had already won four in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 27.5 points) and they went ahead and made it five on Wednesday. They came within six points of losing the streak, but they secured a 75-69 W against the Bobcats.

Willow Canyon's loss ended a 12-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 22-4. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 80.5 points over those games. As for Carl Hayden Community, they pushed their record up to 20-7 with the win, which was their third straight on the road.

Willow Canyon didn't have too much breathing room in their game against Carl Hayden Community in their previous meeting back in December of 2021, but they still walked away with a 70-66 victory. Will Willow Canyon repeat their success, or does Carl Hayden Community have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.