Basketball Preview: Gila Ridge Hawks vs. Cibola Raiders
Gila Ridge is 0-10 against the Raiders since January of 2019 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Wednesday. Both teams will face off at 7:00 p.m. on February 7th without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. Both teams come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Last Friday, even if it wasn't a dominant performance, Gila Ridge beat the Wolverines 49-45. The victory was just what Gila Ridge needed coming off of a 57-30 defeat in their prior game.
Gila Ridge's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Hannah Hayes, who scored 17 points along with two steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Hayes has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Bella DeCorse, who dropped a double-double on 16 points and ten rebounds.
Meanwhile, Cibola came tearing into Friday's contest with five straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 49.2 points) and they left with even more momentum. They claimed a resounding 85-19 victory over Kofa at home. Cibola has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 12 matchups by 29 points or more this season.
Gila Ridge pushed their record up to 14-3 with that victory, which was their sixth straight at home. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 50.2 points per game. As for Cibola, they are on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight matches, which provided a nice bump to their 16-8 record this season.
Gila Ridge was dealt a bruising 61-27 loss at the hands of the Raiders in their previous meeting back in December of 2023. The game was all but decided by halftime, at which point Gila Ridge was down 29-8.
