Basketball Game Preview: Chinle Wildcats vs. Payson Longhorns

The Chinle Wildcats will square off against the Payson Longhorns at 8:00 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Chinle is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. Everything went their way against Coolidge as Chinle made off with a 51-29 victory. The Wildcats have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 12 games by 22 points or more this season.

Meanwhile, Payson strolled past Sabino with points to spare on Friday, taking the game 60-44. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Longhorns.

Payson's win came from a few key players Chinle will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Clara Whaley, who almost dropped a double-double with 16 points and nine rebounds. Those nine boards gave her a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Hannah Sarnowski, who dropped a double-double with 11 points and ten assists.

Payson's win was their eighth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 26-6. The wins came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 25.3 points over those games. As for Chinle, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 19 of their last 20 contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 29-2 record this season.