The Sahuaro Cougars had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 38.5 points), and they went ahead and made it three on Saturday. The stars were shining brightly for them in a 40-23 win over Shadow Ridge. Given Sahuaro's advantage in MaxPreps' Arizona basketball rankings (they are ranked 11th, while Shadow Ridge is ranked 81st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Sahuaro had a senior duo take command as Cassandra Coolidge scored 15 points and Kristen Valdez scored 11 points. The match was Coolidge's fourth in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Biale Sika, who scored six points along with five rebounds and three steals.
Sahuaro's victory bumped their record up to 13-1. As for Shadow Ridge, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 6-5.
Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Sahuaro will be home for the holidays to greet Desert View at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Desert View comes in on a streak of failing to score more than 15 points in their last three games, a trend the squad is of course eager to reverse. Shadow Ridge will be home for the holidays to greet Alhambra at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. Alhambra is hoping to put an end to a four-game streak of away losses.
