The Cibola Raiders will head out on the road to take on the Paradise Honors Panthers at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Paradise Honors is hoping to do what Gila Ridge couldn't on Monday: put an end to Cibola's winning streak, which now stands at three games. Cibola really took it to Gila Ridge for the full four quarters, racking up a 60-27 win. The matchup was all but wrapped up at the end of the third, by which point the Raiders had established a 23 point advantage.
Mariana Vega
| 12/09/24 @ Gila Ridge | 14 |
| 12/05/24 @ Kofa | 10 |
| 12/04/24 @ Apollo | 16 |
| 11/27/24 vs Snowflake | 7 |
| 11/26/24 vs Coolidge | 7 |
Mariana Vega was her usual excellent self, dropping a triple-double on 28 points, 14 rebounds, and 14 steals. With that strong performance, she is now averaging an impressive 8.2 boards per game. The team also got some help courtesy of Avianna Salcedo, who almost dropped a double-double on 12 points and nine boards.
Meanwhile, Paradise Honors had already won three in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 51 points) and they went ahead and made it four on Friday. They breezed by the Panthers to the tune of 73-29.
Paradise Honors' win came from a few key players Cibola will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Lizzy Guincho, who went 9 of 16 on her way to 19 points along with six boards and six steals. She is on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed five or more in the last four games she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Morgan Van Dyke, who dropped a triple-double on 15 points, ten boards, and ten assists.
Paradise Honors' victory was their tenth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 7-1. As for Cibola, they are on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five contests, which provided a nice bump to their 6-2 record this season.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Cibola has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 24.4 boards per game. However, it's not like Paradise Honors struggles in that department as they've been averaging 30.8 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other basketball content.
