Preview: Rootstown Rovers vs. Keystone Wildcats
Rootstown has enjoyed the comforts of home their last four games, but now they'll head out on the road. They will take on the Keystone Wildcats at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday. One thing working in Rootstown's favor is that they have posted big point totals in their last nine games.
In what's become a running theme this season, Rootstown gave their fans yet another huge win on Saturday. They breezed by Orrville at home to the tune of 56-27. Given Rootstown's advantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 105th, while Orrville is ranked 534th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Nadia Lough was her usual excellent self, dropping a double-double on 17 points and 11 rebounds. She hasn't dropped below two steals for three straight games. The team also got some help courtesy of Sasha Nichols, who scored seven points along with four steals.
Meanwhile, Keystone put another one in the bag on Wednesday to keep their perfect season alive. They enjoyed a cozy 40-23 win over Liberty.
Keystone can attribute much of their success to Vivian Cassell, who dropped a double-double on 13 points and 11 rebounds, and Jessica Forthofer, who dropped a double-double on 12 points and 13 rebounds. Cassell has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last five times she's played.
Rootstown pushed their record up to 22-2 with that victory, which was their 14th straight at home dating back to last season. They've been dominating during the games in that stretch too, as they've won by an average of 33.9 points. As for Keystone, their win bumped their record up to 23-0.
Wednesday's contest will pit two of the most dominant forwards against one another: Lough and Cassell. Lough has been dynamite this season: she has averaged 13.2 points, 2.2 steals, and 10.9 rebounds. For her part, Cassell has averaged 9.6 points, 2.3 steals, and 8.4 rebounds.
Wednesday's contest is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: Rootstown have been dynamite from deep this season, having made 39.9% of their threes per game. However, it's not like Keystone struggles in that department as they've made 39.7% of their threes this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
