Pima is 5-0 against Miami since December of 2014, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The pair will round out the year against one another at 6:00 p.m. at. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Pima comes in on four and Miami on seven.
Pima has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won five matchups by 23 points or more this season. They blew past Valley Union 65-13 on the road. Given Pima's advantage in MaxPreps' Arizona basketball rankings (they are ranked 21st, while Valley Union is ranked 185th), the result on Wednesday wasn't entirely unexpected.
Ady Hoopes continued her habit of posting crazy stat lines, scoring 21 points along with six rebounds. Those 21 points set a new season-high mark for her. Another player making a difference was Lea Llamas, who scored 15 points along with three steals.
Miami meant business on Thursday, getting buckets from all over the court against a Tigers squad that has allowed just 29.79 points per contest. Miami blew past St. David 62-36. Considering Miami has won six games by more than 25 points this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Miami's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Tamia Pietila led the charge by dropping a double-double on 21 points and 11 rebounds. The contest was Pietila's seventh in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Leeyah Goss, who scored 15 points along with three steals.
Pima's win bumped their record up to 8-1. As for Miami, their victory bumped their record up to 9-2.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as both teams are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Pima hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having only averaged 55.2 points per game. It's a different story for Miami, though, as they've been averaging only 66.5 points per game. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
Everything came up roses for Pima against Miami when the teams last played back in February of 2021 as the team secured a 72-26 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Pima since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
