Sierra Linda has enjoyed a two-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will take on the South Mountain Jaguars at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
Sierra Linda suffered their biggest defeat since December 14, 2023 on Monday. They were outmatched by Fairfax at home and fell 63-24. While losing is never fun, Sierra Linda can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Arizona basketball rankings (they are ranked 259th, while Fairfax is ranked 127th).
Meanwhile, South Mountain was able to grind out a solid victory over North Canyon on Thursday, taking the game 56-47.
South Mountain relied on the efforts of Bry'ann Wiley, who dropped a double-double on 12 points and 17 rebounds, and Julia Abdelsalam, who dropped a double-double on 14 points and 15 rebounds. Abdelsalam has been hot recently, having posted eight or more rebounds the last seven times she's played. Asia Martin was another key contributor, scoring 14 points along with seven rebounds.
Sierra Linda's loss was their fourth straight at home, which bumped their record down to 3-17. As for South Mountain, their victory bumped their record up to 11-8.
Sierra Linda and South Mountain were neck-and-neck in their previous matchup back in December of 2023, but Sierra Linda came up empty-handed after a 37-36 defeat. Can Sierra Linda avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.