The Central Bobcats lost against the South Mountain Jaguars back in November of 2023, and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Tuesday. Central took a 52-47 hit to the loss column at the hands of South Mountain. The loss unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for Central in their matchups with South Mountain: they've now lost six in a row.
Central lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Lia Sims, who dropped a double-double on 28 points and 17 rebounds. Sims scored a full 59.6% of Central's points, the 17th time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points. Another player making a difference was Lushon Norris, who scored six points along with 13 rebounds.
South Mountain's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Julia Abdelsalam, who dropped a double-double on 13 points and 15 rebounds. Those 13 points set a new season-high mark for her. Bry'ann Wiley was another key contributor, dropping a double-double on 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Central has been struggling recently, as they've lost three of their last four matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 6-11 record this season. As for South Mountain, they have been performing well recently as they've won six of their last eight matches, which provided a nice bump to their 9-6 record this season.
Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Central will challenge Sierra Linda at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Sierra Linda is coming into the match on a four-game losing streak. As for South Mountain, they will head out on the road to face off against Fairfax at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are ranked near one another in Arizona (Fairfax is ranked 149th, while South Mountain is ranked 174th).
