Basketball Game Preview: Marquez Gladiators vs. Maywood Academy Nighthawks

The Marquez Gladiators will square off against the Maywood Academy Nighthawks at 3:00 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Marquez has four straight wins, Maywood Academy has four straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the court.

Marquez will bounce into Friday's match after beating Maywood CES, who they had gone 2-7 against in their nine prior meetings. Marquez secured a 40-36 W over Maywood CES on Wednesday.

Marquez had a senior duo take command as Corshell Vaughn posted eight points along with 20 boards and five blocks and Magaly Gonzalez almost dropped a double-double on ten points and nine rebounds. Vaughn is on a roll when it comes to boards, as she's now pulled down 11 or more in the last 32 games she's played dating back to last season. Another player making a difference was Sophia Carrillo, who earned eight points.

Marquez smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with ten offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive rebounds in four consecutive contests.

Meanwhile, Maywood Academy was just a bucket shy of victory on Wednesday and fell 41-40 to Sotomayor. While the Nighthawks didn't get the win, they did start the game off strong, beating the Wolves 16-4 in the first quarter.

Marquez's victory was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 10-7. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 35.2 points. As for Maywood Academy, their loss dropped their record down to 6-6.

Everything came up roses for Marquez against Maywood Academy when the teams last played on January 6th, as the squad secured a 62-13 win. In that game, Marquez amassed a halftime lead of 33-10, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Friday.