Matador men's, women's basketball head to Cochise
Arizona Western women at (22) Cochise College
Time: 5:30 p.m. today, Douglas
Media: Radio: 560 AM
Last game: The Matadors lost to Central Arizona 69-55; The Apaches beat Chandler-Gilbert 94-55
Records: AWC (20-5 overall, 12-3 Arizona Community College Athletic Conference); Cochise (23-3 overall, 14-2 ACCAC)
Players to watch: Sophomore guard Imari Lyons scored a team-high 14 points in the Matadors' loss to Central Arizona. Lyons is currently the team leader in steals per game on the season. ... Johnishia Welles is the Apaches' team leader in scoring, rebounds, blocks and field-goal percentage and scored a game-high 16 points in the Cochise's 69-38 win over the Matadors on Jan. 5.
The lowdown: The Apaches are in second play at Division I and the Matadors are in third — 1-1/2 games behind Cochise. ... The Matadors' loss to Central Arizona snapped a nine-game winning streak. ... Cochise has won eight straight heading into tonight's contest. ... Last season, the Matadors won 67-38 in Douglas and also beat the Apaches 59-47 in the Division I Region I Semifinal.
(24) Arizona Western men at (21) Cochise College
Time: 7:30 p.m. today, Douglas
Media: Radio: 560 AM
Last game: The Matadors lost to Central Arizona 66-59; The Apaches beat Chandler-Gilbert 113-60
Records: AWC (21-5 overall, 16-2 Arizona Community College Athletic Conference); Cochise (23-3 overall, 16-2 ACCAC)
Players to watch: Having switched over to the 3-guard, sophomore Aaseem Dixon scored a team-high 18 points in the Matadors' loss to Central Arizona. ... The Apaches are the conference's highest-scoring team this season and are led by 6-foot-6 forward freshman Demeco Blue.
The lowdown: Matadors had a 10-game winning streak snapped with their loss to the Vaqueros. ... The Matadors and Apaches are tied for second place in Division I — with the second-place finisher hosting the third-seed in the Division I Region I playoffs. A Matador win would give them a 1-game lead in the standings and the season sweep over the Apaches, who they beat 67-52 in Yuma earlier this season. ... Central Arizona is the only team to beat the Matadors in conference this year.
— Jesse Severson
