Basketball Game Preview: Nogales Apaches vs. Cienega Bobcats

The Nogales Apaches will square off against the Cienega Bobcats at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Nogales has three straight wins, Cienega has four straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the court.

On Friday, Nogales humbled Desert View with a 74-18 victory. The Apaches have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won seven matchups by 24 points or more this season.

Meanwhile, it was a proper cat-fight when Cienega faced off against Marana on Tuesday. Cienega took a 41-29 hit to the loss column at the hands of Marana.

Nogales will have to contain Amaya Woolford as she made an impact in Cienega's last game. She dropped a double-double on ten points and 11 boards. Woolford has been hot, having posted eight or more rebounds the last six times she's played.

Even though they lost, Cienega smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 11 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in eight consecutive games.

Nogales pushed their record up to 11-7 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. The wins came thanks to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 20.3 points per game. As for Cienega, they now have a losing record at 8-9.

Nogales came up short against Cienega in their previous meeting back in January of 2024, falling 49-45. Thankfully for Nogales, Mia Kelley (who went 7 of 12 from beyond the arc en route to 23 points) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.