Sahuaro is 3-0 against Tanque Verde since November of 2018, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Wednesday. The Sahuaro Cougars will head out on the road to face off against the Tanque Verde Hawks at 7:00 p.m. Sahuaro knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with flashy point totals in its past six matches -- so hopefully Tanque Verde likes a good challenge.
On Monday, Sahuaro beat American Leadership Academy 58-48. Given Sahuaro's advantage in MaxPreps' Arizona basketball rankings (they are ranked 18th, while American Leadership Academy is ranked 103rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Cassandra Coolidge continued her habit of posting crazy stat lines, scoring 29 points along with six assists and six rebounds. That makes it six consecutive games in which Coolidge has scored at least 25% of Sahuaro's points. Ny'Anza Brown was another key contributor, scoring 12 points along with five rebounds.
Meanwhile, Tanque Verde scored the most points they've had all season to find success on Friday. They took their contest on the road with ease, bagging a 56-13 victory over San Miguel. The victory was just what Tanque Verde needed coming off of a 67-31 loss in their prior contest.
Tanque Verde's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Layla O'Rourke-Slone, who scored 12 points along with nine rebounds and four steals. O'Rourke-Slone set a new season high mark in steals with four. The team also got some help courtesy of Bella Gooch, who scored nine points along with five steals.
Sahuaro's victory bumped their record up to 6-0. As for Tanque Verde, they now have a winning record of 3-2.
Wednesday's matchup will pit two of the most dominant players against one another: Coolidge and O'Rourke-Slone. Coolidge has been dynamite this season: she has averaged 28.8 points, 3.6 steals, and 1.2 blocks. For her part, O'Rourke-Slone has averaged 16.2 points, 2.5 steals, and 11.5 rebounds.
Everything came up roses for Sahuaro against Tanque Verde in their previous matchup back in December of 2022 as the team secured a 93-16 win. With Sahuaro ahead 54-7 at the half, the game was all but over already.
