Even though the Cienega Bobcats scored an imposing 55 points on Monday, the Ironwood Ridge Nighthawks still came out on top. Ironwood Ridge walked away with a 64-55 win over Cienega. That result was just more of the same for these two, as Ironwood Ridge also won the last time the pair played back in January of 2023.
Ironwood Ridge's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Jaidyn Saucedo led the charge by scoring 17 points along with seven assists and seven rebounds. Saucedo is on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed two or more in the last nine games she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Myla Elslager, who scored 13 points along with eight rebounds and two steals.
Cienega's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Mia Kelley, who dropped a double-double on 13 points and ten assists. Another player making a difference was Taylor Hitchcock, who scored 13 points along with seven rebounds and three steals.
Cienega struggled to get the ball back on offense and finished the game with only four offensive rebounds. They were crushed by their opponents in that department as Ironwood Ridge pulled down 26 offensive rebounds.
Ironwood Ridge has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four matches, which provided a nice bump to their 15-11 record this season. As for Cienega, their loss dropped their record down to 13-13.
Ironwood Ridge will have some time to savor their win since their next game is a little ways off: they'll take on Youngker at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Hopefully Ironwood Ridge focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 12 on Monday. As for Cienega, they will get a bit of extra time to process the loss as their next game is a ways off. They'll take on Paradise Valley at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are closely ranked in Arizona (Cienega is ranked 121st, while Paradise Valley is ranked 106th).
