Basketball Game Preview: Rootstown Rovers vs. Southeast Pirates

Rootstown and Southeast are an even 5-5 against one another since February of 2020, but not for long. The two teams will round out the year against one another at at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday. Rootstown knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past eight matchups -- so hopefully Southeast likes a good challenge.

Rootstown is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They simply couldn't be stopped on Saturday as they easily beat Springfield 76-39. The Rovers have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won six contests by 22 points or more this season.

Rootstown relied on the efforts of Colbie Curall, who dropped a double-double on 19 points and 14 boards, and Addy Germann, who went 5 of 11 on her way to 17 points along with six assists and six steals. That's the most points Curall has posted since back in November of 2023. The team also got some help courtesy of Kelsey Bittecuffer, who posted 15 points in addition to six assists and three steals.

They weren't the only one working in the assists department: Rootstown was working as a unit and finished the game with 17 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Springfield only racked up seven assists.

Meanwhile, a well-balanced attack led Southeast over Champion in every quarter on their way to victory on Friday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Southeast blew Champion out of the water with a 58-26 final score. That looming 58-26 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for the Pirates yet this season.

Rootstown pushed their record up to 8-0 with the win, which was their seventh straight on the road dating back to last season. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 26.7 points. As for Southeast, they are on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four games, which provided a nice bump to their 4-3 record this season.

Everything came up roses for Rootstown against Southeast in their previous matchup back in January, as the squad secured a 57-17 victory. In that match, Rootstown amassed a halftime lead of 37-9, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Saturday.