Tucumcari and Pecos are an even 3-3 against one another since March of 2016, but not for long. The Tucumcari Rattlers will look to defend their home court on Monday against the Pecos Panthers at 5:30 p.m. Both teams are coming into the contest red-hot, with Tucumcari sitting on nine straight wins and Pecos on four.
Tucumcari is headed into the matchup after thoroughly thrashing Clayton: they outscored them in every quarter. Tucumcari put the hurt on Clayton with a sharp 55-30 victory on Saturday. The Rattlers have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 11 games by 21 points or more this season.
Caylee Benavidez
| 02/22/25 vs Clayton | 4 |
| 02/20/25 @ Raton | 2 |
| 02/13/25 @ Santa Rosa | 2 |
| 02/11/25 vs Estancia | 3 |
Caylee Benavidez continued her habit of posting crazy stat lines, dropping a double-double with 14 points and ten rebounds. She is also on a roll when it comes to blocks, as she's now posted two or more in each of the last four games she's played. Kyla Lopez was another key player, almost dropping a double-double with 16 points and nine boards.
Tucumcari smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 16 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in 52 consecutive contests dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, Pecos humbled Clayton with a 56-20 victory.
Pecos' win came from a few key players Tucumcari will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Natalia Stout, who posted 12 points in addition to seven steals and six rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Brianna Bustos, who put up six points and three steals.
Pecos pushed their record up to 20-6 with the win, which was their eighth straight at home. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 52.1 points over those games. As for Tucumcari, their victory bumped their record up to 20-5.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Tucumcari has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 34.7 boards per game. However, it's not like Pecos struggles in that department as they've been averaging 22.8 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Tucumcari was able to grind out a solid win over Pecos when the teams last played on February 8th, winning 63-54. Does Tucumcari have another victory up their sleeve, or will Pecos turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
