In what's become a running theme this season, the Saguaro Sabercats gave their fans yet another huge victory on Thursday. They blew past Arcadia, posting a 86-45 victory at home. Given Saguaro's advantage in MaxPreps' Arizona basketball rankings (they are ranked 59th, while Arcadia is ranked 204th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Saguaro's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Marley Jackson led the charge by going 6 for 9 from beyond the arc en route to 26 points and 1 assist. The team also got some help courtesy of Alexa Simpson, who scored 22 points along with six steals.
When it comes to explaining why Arcadia lost, one person who can't be blamed is Tianna Knighton. Despite the final result, she scored 34 points along with five rebounds. That was a full 75.6% of Arcadia's points, marking the 15th time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points.
Arcadia struggled to work together and finished the game with only four assists. They were crushed by their opponents in that department as Saguaro racked up 15 assists.
Saguaro's win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 13-9. They've been dominating during the matches in that stretch too, as they've won by an average of 39.67 points. As for Arcadia, they have not been sharp recently, as they've lost five of their last six matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 6-14 record this season.
Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Saguaro will face off against Marcos de Niza at 6:30 p.m. on Monday. Marcos de Niza has now lost 16 straight, and the team is hunting for their first win since December 1. Arcadia's road trip will continue as they head out to face Mesquite at 7:00 p.m. on January 29th. Mesquite is coming into the matchup hot, having won their last four games.
