Western is 0-4 against Rancho since December of 2016 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Western Warriors will be staying on the road to face off against the Rancho Rams at 5:00 p.m. on January 18th. Western has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games.
Western struggled with threes last Tuesday (Sierra Vista had five more) and sadly the final score reflected it. Western fell 49-38 to Sierra Vista.
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Laila Lwaba, who scored 13 points along with six rebounds and six steals. That was a full 34.2% of Western's points, marking the third time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Qaaima Taylor, who dropped a double-double on 11 points and ten rebounds.
Even though they lost, Western smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 25 offensive rebounds. That's the most offensive rebounds they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, Rancho strolled past Silverado with points to spare on Tuesday, taking the game 54-36. The win made it back-to-back wins for Rancho.
Rancho can attribute much of their success to Claudia Vargas-Arellano, who scored 17 points along with six assists and six rebounds, and Taylor Dagons, who scored 22 points along with seven rebounds and four steals. Vargas-Arellano is absolutely dominating the steal category: she's posted at least two every time she's taken the court this season. Another player making a difference was Crystal Padilla, who scored four points.
Western's loss was their fourth straight on the road, which bumped their record down to 3-10. As for Rancho, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won seven of their last eight contests, which provided a nice bump to their 9-4 record this season.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Western have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 28.6 rebounds per game. It's a different story for Rancho, though, as they've been averaging only 34.5 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Western was dealt a bruising 58-30 loss at the hands of Rancho when the teams last played back in December of 2023. The match was all but decided by halftime, at which point Western was down 33-13.
