The Florence Gophers will square off against the Coolidge Bears at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday. Florence is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 66.4 points per game this season.
Florence heads in on the heels of a playoff matchup last Wednesday. They received a blow as they fell 72-54 to North Valley Christian Academy. The Gophers have been going strong on the season, but this is now their second defeat in a row.
Logan Stenson
| 02/12/25 @ North Valley Christian Academy | 13 |
| 02/06/25 vs Valley Christian | 10 |
| 02/04/25 @ Coolidge | 10 |
| 02/01/25 @ ALA - West Foothills | 10 |
| 01/31/25 vs Apache Junction | 12 |
| + 4 more games |
Loss or not, Florence got some senior leadership from Adrian Taufaasau and Logan Stenson. Taufaasau went 9-for-15 en route to 19 points and seven boards, while Stenson dropped a double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds. Stenson has been hot for a while, having posted ten or more boards the last nine times he's played. Another player making a difference was Darren Swain, who posted nine points.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Coolidge, who bounced back after a loss on the road last Wednesday. They secured a 49-44 W over Holbrook on Tuesday. The win continues a trend for the Bears in their matchups with the Roadrunners: they've now won three in a row.
Coolidge's win came from a few key players Florence will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Porter Dees, who had eight points in addition to 15 rebounds and three steals. Those 15 boards gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Preston Dees, who dropped a double-double with 13 points and 15 rebounds.
Coolidge smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 20 offensive rebounds. They pulled down ten more offensive boards than Holbrook's also-impressive total of ten.
Coolidge's victory bumped their record up to 23-9. As for Florence, their defeat dropped their record down to 23-4.
Keep an eye on the arc in Saturday's game: Florence has been dynamite from deep this season, having made 49.8% of their three-pointers per game. It's a different story for Coolidge, though, as they've only made 26.7% of their threes this season. Given Florence's sizable advantage in that area, Coolidge will need to find a way to close that gap.
Florence was able to grind out a solid win over Coolidge when the teams last played on February 4th, winning 57-48. Does Florence have another victory up their sleeve, or will Coolidge turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
