Basketball Game Preview: Desert Vista Thunder vs. Sunnyslope Vikings

Having just played yesterday, the Desert Vista Thunder will head out on the road to face off against the Sunnyslope Vikings at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.

Desert Vista took a loss when they played away from home on Monday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Tuesday. They blew past Corona del Sol 81-10. Given the Thunder's advantage in MaxPreps' Arizona basketball rankings (they are ranked 23rd, while the Aztecs are ranked 208th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Meanwhile, Sunnyslope hadn't done well against Xavier College Prep recently (they were 0-5 in their previous five matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Friday. Sunnyslope walked away with a 59-46 victory over Xavier College Prep.

Sunnyslope's win came from a few key players Desert Vista will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Shannon McIlroy, who posted 13 points along with eight rebounds and five assists. That's the most boards she has posted since back in December of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Kylie Rarrick, who scored 11 points and six steals.

Sunnyslope is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six contests, which provided a nice bump to their 17-8 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 64.7 points over those games. As for Desert Vista, the win got them back to even at 12-12.

Things could have been worse for Desert Vista, but things could have been a whole lot better as they took a 58-43 loss to Sunnyslope in their previous meeting two weeks ago. Can Desert Vista avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.