Basketball Recap: Cienega Takes a Loss

After flying high against Desert View last Friday, Cienega came back down to earth. The Cienega Bobcats were dealt a 68-30 loss at the hands of the Pueblo Warriors on Tuesday. The Bobcats were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 36-15.

Mia Lopez

Rebounds (Career)

02/11/25 vs Pueblo	5
01/27/25 @ Pueblo	4
01/24/25 @ Empire	4
01/10/25 vs Flowing Wells	3
01/08/25 vs Sahuarita	3

Cienega's defeat came despite a true team effort with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Mia Lopez, who posted four points in addition to five rebounds and three steals. The dominant performance gave Lopez a new career-high in boards.

Pueblo got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was America Cazares out in front who almost dropped a double-double with 34 points and nine rebounds. The game was Cazares' 19th in a row with at least 20 points. Another player making a difference was Brooklyn Espinoza, who dropped a triple-double with ten points, 16 boards, and ten steals.

Cienega has been struggling recently as they've lost five of their last six matches, which has put a noticeable dent in their 11-15 record this season. As for Pueblo, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 11 of their last 12 contests, which provided a nice bump to their 22-3 record this season.

Looking ahead, Cienega will challenge Buena at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. As for Pueblo, they will face off against Nogales at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Pueblo knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past three games -- so hopefully Nogales likes a good challenge.