Basketball Preview: Rancho Rams vs. Chaparral Cowboys
Rancho is 8-0 against the Cowboys since December of 2014, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The Rancho Rams will be playing in front of their home fans against the Chaparral Cowboys at 5:00 p.m. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.
Rancho struggled with offensive rebounds on Wednesday (the Mountain Lions had 12 more) and sadly the final score reflected it. Rancho fell 61-54 to the Mountain Lions. Rancho has not had much luck with the Mountain Lions recently, as the team's come up short the last two times they've met.
Despite the loss, Rancho had strong showings from Taylor Dagons, who almost dropped a double-double on 33 points and nine rebounds, and Claudia Vargas-Arellano, who scored 12 points along with seven assists and six rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Dagons has scored all season. Jaelle Phipps was another key contributor, scoring three points along with ten rebounds.
Chaparral won a close one the last time they played, but unfortunately they suffered a serious change of fortune on Thursday. They were dealt a 71-6 loss at the hands of Moapa Valley. Chaparral was in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 47-5.
Rancho dropped their record down to 11-8 with that defeat, which was their third straight on the road. As for Chaparral, their loss dropped their record down to 1-14.
Everything came up roses for Rancho against the Cowboys in their previous matchup back in January of 2023 as the team secured a 68-31 win. Will Rancho repeat their success, or do the Cowboys have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
