Basketball Game Preview: Coronado Cougars vs. Centennial Bulldogs

Coronado hasn't had much luck against Centennial recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Coronado Cougars will head out to square off against the Centennial Bulldogs at 6:30 p.m. Both are strolling into their games after big wins in their previous games.

Coronado took a loss when they played away from home on Monday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Tuesday. They claimed a resounding 71-11 victory over Clark. Given the Cougars' advantage in MaxPreps' Nevada basketball rankings (they are ranked 11th, while the Chargers are ranked 96th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Coronado got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Scarlet Lopez out in front who went 6 of 9 en route to 14 points and six steals. Lopez is on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed two or more in the last six games she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Brooke Beranek, who went 5 for 8 on her way to 11 points along with seven assists and four steals.

Meanwhile, Centennial entered their tilt with Virgin Valley on Wednesday with eight consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with nine. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat the Bulldogs 77-49. Centennial has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won ten contests by 22 points or more this season.

Centennial's victory was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 15-2. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 56.3 points. As for Coronado, they are on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four matches, which provided a nice bump to their 10-8 record this season.

Coronado was taken down by Centennial 76-36 in their previous matchup back in January of 2024. Can Coronado avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.