Basketball Game Preview: Sunnyside Blue Devils vs. Higley Knights

The Sunnyside Blue Devils will head out to square off against the Higley Knights at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. Sunnyside is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 56 points per game this season.

Sunnyside is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Arizona's top teams: Gilbert, who was ranked tenth at the time (Sunnyside was ranked eighth). Sunnyside fell just short of Gilbert by a score of 41-38 on Tuesday. The Blue Devils' defeat signaled the end of their eight-game winning streak.

Esabella Barajas

Steals

12/10/24 @ Gilbert	4
12/05/24 vs Mountain Ridge	5
12/03/24 @ Nogales	2
11/27/24 vs Nogales	3

The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Esabella Barajas, who posted eight points in addition to five rebounds and four steals. She is on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed two or more in the last four games she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Angelique Yanez, who had nine points along with seven boards and three blocks.

Meanwhile, Higley ended up a good deal behind Desert Vista on Tuesday and lost 70-55.

Despite the loss, Higley saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Cadence Murdough went 8 of 12 on her way to 17 points in addition to seven rebounds and four steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Murdough has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Sophia Moreira, who posted nine points and six rebounds.

Having lost for the first time this season, Sunnyside fell to 8-1. As for Higley, their defeat dropped their record down to 5-3.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Sunnyside has crashing the boards this season, having averaged 35.9 boards per game. However, it's not like Higley struggles in that department as they've been averaging 28.4 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more basketball content.