St. Johns is 4-0 against Morenci since December of 2017, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The St. Johns Redskins have the luxury of staying home another game and will welcome the Morenci Wildcats at 6:00 p.m. on February 16th. St. Johns knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with flashy point totals in its past eight matchups -- so hopefully Morenci likes a good challenge.
St. Johns can now show off 18 landslide victories after their most recent match last Saturday. They claimed a resounding 58-28 victory over Round Valley at home. The contest was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 35-12.
Among those leading the charge was Kayme Smith, who scored 12 points along with five steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Elli Otto, who scored 11 points along with three steals.
Meanwhile, with a playoff game on the line, Morenci rose to the challenge on Thursday. They had just enough and edged the Cowboys out 58-56. Having run the score up that high, both teams probably have some extra defensive drills coming up.
Morenci's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Tiara Jones, who dropped a double-double on 12 points and 14 rebounds. Jones hasn't dropped below two steals for six straight games. Another player making a difference was Rozlyn Funari, who scored 13 points along with eight rebounds and three steals.
St. Johns' victory was their eighth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 26-5. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 60.9 points per game. As for Morenci, they have been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 15-11 record this season.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: St. Johns have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 42.1 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Morenci struggles in that department as they've been averaging 32.5 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
St. Johns took their victory against Morenci in their previous matchup back in December of 2023 by a conclusive 55-29. Will St. Johns repeat their success, or does Morenci have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
