The Centennial Rams will square off against the Cripple Creek-Victor Pioneers at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Centennial will be strutting in after a win while Cripple Creek-Victor will be coming in after a loss.
Centennial will bounce into Wednesday's game after beating Sangre de Cristo, who they had gone 0-9 against in their nine prior meetings. Centennial enjoyed a cozy 35-16 victory over Sangre de Cristo on Saturday. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Rams.
Anai Medina was her usual excellent self, putting up 19 points and seven steals. That makes it nine consecutive games in which she has scored at least a third of Centennial's points. Another player making a difference was Saphira Rael, who posted three points in addition to 13 rebounds and three steals.
Centennial smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 25 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in 25 consecutive matches dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, it's never fun to lose, and it's even less fun to lose 65-13, which was the final score in Cripple Creek-Victor's tilt against South Park on Monday. While losing is never fun, the Pioneers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Colorado basketball rankings (they are ranked 309th, while the Burros are ranked 144th).
Rylee May was Cripple Creek-Victor's leading scorer, having posted eight points. Aubreanna Becker held things down on the boards with seven rebounds.
Cripple Creek-Victor has been struggling recently as they've lost five of their last six contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 3-6 record this season. As for Centennial, their win bumped their record up to 4-5.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Centennial has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 38.3 boards per game. However, it's not like Cripple Creek-Victor struggles in that department as they've been averaging 28 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Centennial didn't have too much breathing room in their game against Cripple Creek-Victor in their previous meeting back in January of 2024, but they still walked away with a 39-33 victory. Does Centennial have another victory up their sleeve, or will Cripple Creek-Victor turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
