Ironwood is on a three-game streak of home losses, Centennial a seven-game streak of away losses (dating back to last season), but someone's luck is about to change. The Ironwood Eagles will take on the Centennial Coyotes at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday.
Ironwood suffered their biggest defeat since December 7, 2023 on Tuesday. They were dealt a 57-26 loss at the hands of Willow Canyon. While losing is never fun, Ironwood can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Arizona basketball rankings (they are ranked 210th, while Willow Canyon is ranked 100th).
Meanwhile, Centennial scored the most points they've had all season to find success on Tuesday. They blew past Apollo 61-40. The victory was just what Centennial needed coming off of a 47-23 defeat in their prior matchup.
Akasha Prpich was her usual excellent self, going 6 for 8 from beyond the arc en route to 28 points and 4 assists. That makes it eight consecutive games in which she has scored at least a third of Centennial's points. Katelyn Mccort was another key contributor, scoring eight points along with eight rebounds.
Ironwood has traveled a rocky road recently, as they've lost 12 of their last 13 contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 4-14 record this season. As for Centennial, their win bumped their record up to 6-9.
Ironwood was dealt a bruising 52-22 loss at the hands of Centennial in their previous meeting back in December of 2023. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Prpich, who scored 23 points along with nine rebounds and three steals. Now that Ironwood knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.
