The Centennial Rams will head out on the road to square off against the Sierra Grande Panthers at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Centennial comes in on three and Sierra Grande on six.
Last Wednesday, Centennial didn't have too much trouble with Cripple Creek-Victor as they won 38-20. The Rams pushed the score to 30-10 by the end of the third, a deficit the Pioneers cut but never quite recovered from.
| 02/10/24 vs Sierra Grande | 17 |
| 01/19/24 vs Antonito | 16 |
| 12/16/23 vs Legacy Academy | 14 |
| 01/31/24 @ Cripple Creek-Victor | 14 |
| 01/26/24 @ Moffat | 13 |
Laila Garcia was the offensive standout of the matchup as she dropped a double-double on ten points and 20 rebounds. Those 20 boards gave her a new career-high. Angeliyah Sandoval also deserves some recognition as she posted her first block of the season.
Centennial smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 25 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in 26 consecutive contests dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, a well-balanced attack led Sierra Grande over Moffat in every quarter on their way to victory on Saturday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Sierra Grande blew Moffat out of the water with a 68-20 final score. With the Panthers ahead 38-13 at the half, the game was all but over already.
Centennial better keep an eye on Jaylyn Quezada. She was instrumental in Sierra Grande's win, going 9 for 14 on her way to 21 points and five steals. Quezada has been hot for a while, having posted two or more steals the last ten times she's played. Another player making a difference was Yazmin Molina, who almost dropped a double-double on 14 points and nine rebounds.
Sierra Grande is on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last nine matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 8-5 record this season. The wins came thanks to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 28.4 points per game. As for Centennial, the victory got them back to even at 5-5.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Centennial has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 38.9 boards per game. However, it's not like Sierra Grande struggles in that department as they've been averaging 29.6 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Centennial ended up a good deal behind Sierra Grande when the teams last played back in February of 2024, losing 42-23. Can Centennial avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
