The Pueblo Warriors will take on the Cienega Bobcats at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. Pueblo is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 66.2 points per game this season.
Pueblo is probably headed into the contest with a chip on their shoulder considering Flowing Wells just ended the team's six-game winning streak on Thursday. They lost to the Caballeros on the road by a 60-45 margin.
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Sara Galindo, who posted 19 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Mia Soto, who dropped a double-double on 11 points and 11 boards.
Even though they lost, Pueblo smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive boards in six consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Cienega took their match on Friday with ease, bagging a 49-15 win over Empire. The contest was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 33-6.
Cienega's win came from a few key players Pueblo will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Sam Ortiz, who went 5 of 9 en route to 11 points and three steals. The dominant performance also gave her a new career-high in rebounds (three). Another player making a difference was Mia Lopez, who earned nine points.
The victory got Cienega back to even at 10-10. As for Pueblo, their defeat was their first in the region, dropping their region record down to 3-1 and their overall record down to 17-3.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Pueblo has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 33.4 boards per game. However, it's not like Cienega struggles in that department as they've been averaging 28.8 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Pueblo beat Cienega 72-61 when the teams last played back in February of 2021. Does Pueblo have another victory up their sleeve, or will Cienega turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
