Matador basketball hosts Eastern Arizona
Eastern Arizona women at Arizona Western
Time: 5:30 p.m. today, The House
Media: Time-Warner Ch. 74, 560-AM KBLU, www.azwestern.edu/athletics
Last game: The Matadors topped Glendale 61-40; The Gila Monsters lost 74-71 at home to Cochise
Records: AWC (19-5 overall, 11-3 Arizona Community College Athletic Conference); Eastern (15-9 overall, 8-6 ACCAC)
Players to watch: Samantha Wallace leads the Matadors in scoring and had a team-high 16 against Eastern in December, a 73-69 Gila Monster win. ... Amara Wainwright is second with 14.2 points per game for Eastern and scored a team-high 17 in the December win.
The lowdown: Although the Gila Monsters won the last meeting, the Matadors still have a three-game lead over them for the final NJCAA Division I Region I playoff spot. ... The Matadors have won eight straight overall. ... AWC had won the last 10 in the series against EAC before the December loss. ... Eastern has lost three of its last four and has one win against a team with a winning record since beating AWC — a 75-70 home win against South Mountain on Jan. 19.
Eastern Arizona men at (20) Arizona Western
Time: 7:30 p.m. today, The House
Media: Time-Warner Ch. 74, 560-AM KBLU, www.azwestern.edu/athletics
Last game: The Matadors beat Glendale 74-59; The Gila Monsters lost 97-87 to Cochise
Records: AWC (20-4 overall, 15-1 Arizona Community College Athletic Conference); Eastern (18-6 overall, 10-6 ACCAC)
Players to watch: Tanner Clayton is averaging both 10.9 points and rebounds for AWC this year and scored 16 against EAC in December, an AWC win. ... Taylor Stafford scored 22 against AWC last time, three points higher than his team-leading season average.
The lowdown: The game was a back-and-forth contest last time, won by the Matadors 72-67. Neither team led by more than four until the final 90 seconds. ... EAC swept the regular season meeting last year before AWC won 66-53 in Yuma in the NJCAA Region I Division I semifinals. ... The Gila Monsters have three losses since the holiday break, all against teams they are chasing for the four Division I playoff spots — Mesa, Cochise and Central. The Matadors can complete the quadrella with the win.
— Edward Carifio
