Recap: Central Bobcats vs. South Mountain Jaguars
The Central Bobcats lost against the South Mountain Jaguars back in November of 2023, and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Tuesday. Central took a 52-47 hit to the loss column at the hands of South Mountain. The loss unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for Central in their matchups with South Mountain: they've now lost six in a row.
Central lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Lia Sims, who dropped a double-double on 28 points and 17 rebounds. Sims scored a full 59.6% of Central's points, the 17th time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points. Another player making a difference was Lushon Norris, who scored six points along with 13 rebounds.
South Mountain's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Julia Abdelsalam, who dropped a double-double on 13 points and 15 rebounds. Those 13 points set a new season-high mark for her. Bry'ann Wiley was another key contributor, dropping a double-double on 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Central has been struggling recently, as they've lost three of their last four matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 6-11 record this season. As for South Mountain, they have been performing well recently as they've won six of their last eight matches, which provided a nice bump to their 9-6 record this season.
Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Central will challenge Sierra Linda at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Sierra Linda is coming into the match on a four-game losing streak. As for South Mountain, they will head out on the road to face off against Fairfax at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are ranked near one another in Arizona (Fairfax is ranked 149th, while South Mountain is ranked 174th).
