Basketball Recap: Madison Jacks' Big Game Can't Quite Lead Centennial over Willow Canyon

Centennial lost against Willow Canyon back in February of 2024 and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Wednesday. The Centennial Coyotes fell to the Willow Canyon Wildcats 55-51. While losing is never fun, the Coyotes can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Arizona basketball rankings (they are ranked 202nd, while the Wildcats are ranked 100th).

Several Coyotes players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Madison Jacks, who posted 14 points and six boards. Another player making a difference was Izzy Alvarez, who went 5 for 11 en route to 14 points.

Willow Canyon's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Kayla Preston, who dropped a double-double on 19 points and 21 rebounds. Preston is crushing it when it comes to boards: she's pulled down at least eight every time she's taken the court this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Jailynn Pope, who dropped a double-double on 17 points and ten steals.

Centennial has been struggling recently as they've lost nine of their last 11 matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 6-15 record this season. As for Willow Canyon, the victory was the third in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 12-6.

Centennial wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next game, a 66-17 loss against Sunrise Mountain on the 4th. As for Willow Canyon, they also didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next contest, a 79-58 defeat against Kellis on the 4th.