Basketball Game Preview: Olmsted Falls Bulldogs vs. Austintown-Fitch Falcons

The Olmsted Falls Bulldogs will take on the Austintown-Fitch Falcons in a tournament on Saturday. Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Olmsted Falls is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Wednesday. They breezed past John Marshall to the tune of 65-22. The Bulldogs have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 12 games by 25 points or more this season.

Meanwhile, Austintown-Fitch waltzed into their contest on Wednesday with three straight wins... but they left with four. They took down the Panthers 48-30. Given the Falcons' advantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 223rd, while the Panthers are ranked 567th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Austintown-Fitch's win came from a few key players Olmsted Falls will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Rachel Spalding, who went 6-for-12 on her way to 14 points along with eight rebounds and three steals. She has become a key player for Austintown-Fitch: the team is 3-1 when she posts at least eight boards, but 9-10 otherwise. The team also got some help courtesy of Liz Spalding, who posted five points in addition to six rebounds and six steals.

Austintown-Fitch smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive rebounds in five consecutive matches.

Olmsted Falls has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won seven of their last eight games. That's provided a nice bump to their 18-5 record this season. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 37.9 points. Austintown-Fitch pushed their record up to 12-11 with the win, which was their third straight at home.