Basketball Game Preview: Circleville Tigers vs. Unioto Shermans

The Circleville Tigers will challenge the Unioto Shermans at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Circleville is returning to their home court after beating Athens on theirs, despite the fact Athens has dominated at home this season. Circleville walked away with a 51-39 win over Athens on Saturday. The Tigers haven't had any issues with the Bulldogs recently, as the game was their fifth consecutive victory against them.

Meanwhile, Unioto waltzed into their matchup on Wednesday with six straight wins... but they left with seven. They claimed a resounding 81-32 win over the Bearcats. Given the Shermans' advantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 86th, while the Bearcats are ranked 684th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Circleville better focus on containing Milee Smith and Mya Hamilton as the pair were huge in Unioto's win. Smith shot 4-for-6 from beyond the arc and almost dropped a double-double on 25 points and nine rebounds, while Hamilton almost dropped a double-double on 31 points and nine boards. Hamilton's evening made it four games in a row in which she has scored at least 21 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Magnolia Holbert, who posted ten points.

Unioto was working as a unit and finished the game with 19 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Paint Valley only posted nine assists.

Circleville's victory was their seventh straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 18-3. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 52.4 points over those games. As for Unioto, their win bumped their record up to 17-4.

Circleville strolled past Unioto in their previous meeting back in February of 2016 by a score of 45-27. Will Circleville repeat their success, or does Unioto have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.