Basketball Game Preview: Willow Canyon Wildcats vs. Desert Edge Scorpions

The Willow Canyon Wildcats will square off against the Desert Edge Scorpions at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Willow Canyon has three straight wins, Desert Edge has four straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the court.

Last Wednesday, Willow Canyon escaped with a win against Desert Mountain by the margin of a single free throw, 57-56.

Willow Canyon's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Sarah Karnitz led the charge by dropping a double-double on 18 points and ten rebounds. The matchup was Karnitz's third in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Jailynn Pope, who went 7 of 13 on her way to 18 points along with six assists and six steals.

Willow Canyon smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive boards in 12 consecutive games.

Meanwhile, Desert Edge came up short against Buckeye on Thursday, falling 56-32. While losing is never fun, the Scorpions can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Arizona basketball rankings (they are ranked 227th, while the Hawks are ranked 101st).

Willow Canyon is on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five contests, which provided a nice bump to their 8-4 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 59.8 points per game. As for Desert Edge, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-12.

Willow Canyon was taken down by Desert Edge 49-15 when the teams last played back in January of 2016. Can Willow Canyon avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.