Preview: Palo Verde Titans vs. Santa Rita Eagles
Palo Verde is 6-1 against Santa Rita since January of 2015, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Monday. The Palo Verde Titans will head out on the road to take on the Santa Rita Eagles at 7:00 p.m. Given that the pair suffered a loss in their last game, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this match.
Palo Verde has been a dominant force so far, but they're in the middle of a mini-slump at the moment. They took a 58-53 hit to the loss column at the hands of Pusch Ridge Christian Academy.
Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the most dominant came from Adrain Powers, who scored 13 points along with eight rebounds. Another player making a difference was Daniel Ortiz, who dropped a double-double on 11 points and ten rebounds.
Meanwhile, this season hasn't been kind to Santa Rita, who are still winless after their 11th contest. They had to suffer through a rough 93-25 loss at the hands of Morenci. While losing is never fun, Santa Rita can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Arizona basketball rankings (they are ranked 328th, while Morenci is ranked 105th).
Palo Verde's loss dropped their record down to 13-5. As for Santa Rita, they bumped their record down to 0-11 with that defeat, which was their 13th straight on the road.
Everything came up roses for Palo Verde against Santa Rita when the teams last played back in January of 2023 as the squad secured a 73-31 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Palo Verde since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
