Matador basketball teams heading to South Mountain
Arizona Western women's basketball at South Mountain
Time: 5:30 p.m. today, Phoenix
Media: 560 AM KBLU, azwestern.edu/athletics
Last game: The Matadors beat Phoenix College 58-56; The Cougars beat Tohono O'odham 104-56
Records: AWC (22-6 overall, 14-4 Arizona Community College Athletic Conference); South Mountain (16-12 overall, 7-11 ACCAC)
Players to watch: Samantha Wallace continued her strong freshman season with a 28-point, 14-rebound performance in the Matadors' win over Phoenix. ... Megan Mullings scored a team-high 17 points against the Matadors in the Cougars' first meeting against AWC. Mullings also is top on the team in points (14), rebounds (8.8) and blocks (2.2) per game.
The lowdown: The Matadors are third place at Division I, trailing Cochise by a game. The Apaches play at first place Central Arizona. ... On the year, Wallace is averaging a double-double with 16.9 points and 11.4 points. Emilie Muanandibu (11.6 points and 11.1 rebounds) is also averaging double-figures in both categories. ... Arizona Western has beaten South Mountain the last seven meetings. ... Last year, the Matadors had to survive for a 69-65 win at South Mountain.
(24) Arizona Western men’s basketball at South Mountain
Time: 7:30 p.m. today, Phoenix
Media: 560 AM KBLU, azwestern.edu/athletics
Last game: The Matadors beat Phoenix College 67-56; The Cougars beat Tohono O’odham 85-71
Records: AWC (23-5 overall, 18-2 Arizona Community College Athletic Conference); South Mountain (13-15 overall, 7-13 ACCAC)
Players to watch: While only fifth on the team in scoring at 8.8 points a game, sophomore post Carlos Perez scored a career-high 20 for the Matadors in their win over Phoenix. ... Sophomore Johnell Thompson had a huge night in the first meeting against the Matadors, scoring 32 points in a Cougar loss. Thompson leads the team with 20.1 points per game on the year.
The lowdown: Arizona Western is tied for first place at Division I with Central Arizona, with Cochise and Mesa both a game behind the Matadors and Vaqueros. ... The Matadors have won 20 of 22 games — with their only losses coming at the hands of Central Arizona. ... In the first meeting between the teams, the Matadors beat the Cougars 84-72 in Yuma. ... This is the second-to-last game of the regular season for the Matadors, who end the schedule by traveling to Mesa on Friday.
-Jesse Severson
