The Mingus Marauders will be playing in front of their home fans against the Prescott Badgers at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Last Friday, Mingus took their contest at home with ease, bagging a 63-22 victory over the Thunderbirds. The win was just what Mingus needed coming off of a 69-40 defeat in their prior game.
Mingus relied on the efforts of Brianka Villalobos, who scored 19 points along with six steals, and Savannah Tobias, who dropped a double-double on 14 points and 11 steals. Tobias is crushing the steal category: she's posted at least three every time she's taken the court this season. Another player making a difference was Makela Martinez, who scored eight points along with seven assists and five steals.
Meanwhile, Prescott had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 32.5 points), and they went ahead and made it three on Monday. They put the hurt on Bradshaw Mountain with a sharp 48-26 victory.
Prescott found their leader in underclassman Bella Abt, who almost dropped a triple-double on 12 points, 11 rebounds, and nine steals. Abt hasn't dropped below two steals for 12 straight games. The team also got some help courtesy of Addie Prisciandaro, who scored 13 points along with two steals.
Mingus pushed their record up to 18-5 with that victory, which was their third straight at home. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 61.3 points per game. As for Prescott, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won nine of their last ten matches, which provided a massive bump to their 16-8 record this season.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as Mingus and the Badgers are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Mingus hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 57 points per game. However, it's not like Prescott struggles in that department as they've been averaging 59.9 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.
Mingus couldn't quite finish off the Badgers when the teams last played back in January and fell 54-51. Will Mingus have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
