Basketball Game Preview: North Phoenix Preparatory Academy Gladiators vs. Maryvale Prep Matador

North Phoenix Preparatory Academy is 0-3 against Maryvale Prep since November of 2023 but things could change on Friday. Having just played yesterday, the North Phoenix Preparatory Academy Gladiators will head out on the road to face off against the Maryvale Prep Matador at 5:30 p.m. Both have allowed few points on average, (North Phoenix Preparatory Academy: 24.1, Maryvale Prep: 20.8) so any points scored will be well earned.

Maryvale Prep will be up against a hot North Phoenix Preparatory Academy team: the squad just extended their winning streak to four. Everything went North Phoenix Preparatory Academy's way against Mayer on Thursday as North Phoenix Preparatory Academy made off with a 34-12 victory. The Gladiators pushed the score to 29-8 by the end of the third, a deficit the Wildcats had little chance of recovering from.

North Phoenix Preparatory Academy's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Brecken Cain led the charge by putting up ten points in addition to seven boards and three steals. Cain is on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed two or more in the last three games she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Lainey Wakeham, who posted three points along with 14 rebounds and five blocks.

North Phoenix Preparatory Academy smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive rebounds in four consecutive matchups.

Meanwhile, Maryvale Prep didn't have too much breathing room in their game against Anthem Prep on Tuesday, but they still walked away with a 26-21 win. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Matador.

Maryvale Prep's victory bumped their record up to 11-1. As for North Phoenix Preparatory Academy, their win bumped their record up to 8-4.

Things could have been worse for North Phoenix Preparatory Academy, but things could have been a whole lot better as they took a 36-18 loss to Maryvale Prep when the teams last played back in December of 2024. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Maryvale Prep's Amaya Myers, who dropped a double-double on 17 points and 27 boards. Now that North Phoenix Preparatory Academy knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.