Preview: South Mountain Jaguars vs. North Canyon Rattlers
Two dominant guards in Bry'ann Wiley and Ava Adams are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The South Mountain Jaguars will be playing at home against the North Canyon Rattlers at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are ranked near one another in Arizona (South Mountain is ranked 164th, while North Canyon is ranked 165th).
On Tuesday, South Mountain lost to McClintock on the road by a decisive 47-29 margin. The loss unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for South Mountain in their matchups with McClintock: they've now lost three in a row.
Meanwhile, winning is just a little bit easier when you outrebound your opponent 20 to 12 on the offensive boards, a fact North Canyon proved on Friday. They enjoyed a cozy 57-43 victory over Sierra Linda.
North Canyon's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Lanaya McCloud, who scored 20 points along with seven rebounds and five steals. Jonni Brown was another key contributor, dropping a double-double on 16 points and 12 rebounds.
South Mountain's defeat dropped their record down to 10-8. As for North Canyon, their win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 8-6.
South Mountain was able to grind out a solid win over North Canyon when the teams last played back in January of 2023, winning 47-37. Will South Mountain repeat their success, or does North Canyon have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
