Preview: Mesa Vista Trojans vs. Cuba Rams
The Mesa Vista Trojans will be staying on the road on Saturday to face off against the Cuba Rams at 3:00 p.m. on December 16th. Cuba took a loss in their last matchup and will be looking to turn the tables on Mesa Vista, who comes in off a win.
Last Saturday, everything went Mesa Vista's way against Non Varsity Opponent as Mesa Vista made off with a 74-54 win.
Tana Lopez continued her habit of posting crazy stat lines, scoring 30 points along with eight steals. The matchup was her fourth in a row with at least ten points. Kylie Torrez was another key contributor, scoring five points along with five rebounds.
Meanwhile, Cuba came up short against Crownpoint on Tuesday and fell 43-34. The defeat unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for Cuba in their matchups with Crownpoint: they've now lost five in a row.
Despite the defeat, Cuba had strong showings from Emma Yazzie, who scored 12 points along with seven rebounds, and Liliana Maestas, who scored 11 points along with eight rebounds and four steals. Those 12 points set a new season-high mark for her.
Even though they lost, Cuba were smashing the offensive glass and finished the game with 18 offensive rebounds. That's the most offensive rebounds they've managed all season.
The victory got Mesa Vista back to even at 2-2. As for Cuba, their loss was their fourth straight on the road dating back to last season, which bumped their record down to 1-3.
Keep an eye on the arc in Saturday's game: Mesa Vista have made nailing deep shots look easy this year this season, having only averaged 5.5 threes per game. It's a different story for Cuba, though, as they've been averaging only 4.8 threes per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Everything went Mesa Vista's way against Cuba when the teams last played back in January as Mesa Vista made off with a 58-38 victory. Will Mesa Vista repeat their success, or does Cuba have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
