Preview: Liberty Union Lions vs. Bloom-Carroll Bulldogs
After four games on the road, Liberty Union is heading back home. They will take on the Bloom-Carroll Bulldogs at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Both teams come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Last Friday, even if it wasn't a dominant performance, Liberty Union beat Hamilton Township 43-39.
Liberty Union can attribute much of their success to Morgan Love, who dropped a double-double on 13 points and 13 rebounds. Love also posted two+ blocks for the first time this season. Brooklyn Angelo was another key contributor, scoring six points along with six rebounds.
Meanwhile, Bloom-Carroll beat Fairfield Union 45-37 last Saturday. Given Bloom-Carroll's advantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 115th, while Fairfield Union is ranked 398th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Emily Bratton continued her habit of posting crazy stat lines, dropping a double-double on 21 points and ten rebounds. She hasn't dropped below two steals for nine straight games. The team also got some help courtesy of Tessa Brooks, who scored nine points along with six rebounds.
Liberty Union pushed their record up to 7-10 with that victory, which was their third straight on the road. As for Bloom-Carroll, their win bumped their record up to 10-4.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Liberty Union have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 22.9 rebounds per game. It's a different story for Bloom-Carroll, though, as they've been averaging only 28.6 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Liberty Union took a serious blow against Bloom-Carroll in their previous matchup back in December of 2023, falling 63-21. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Bratton, who scored 29 points along with nine rebounds and three steals. Now that Liberty Union knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
