Preview: Liberty Leopards vs. Mineral Ridge Rams
The Liberty Leopards will head out on the road to face off against the Mineral Ridge Rams at 6:00 p.m. on Monday.
Last Thursday, Liberty was the victim of a rough 59-36 defeat at the hands of McDonald. Liberty has now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Meanwhile, Mineral Ridge waltzed into Saturday's game with two straight wins but they left with three. They enjoyed a cozy 64-46 victory over Orange. Given Mineral Ridge's advantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 49th, while Orange is ranked 192nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Gianna Gilbert and Ava Hulett were among the main playmakers for Mineral Ridge as the former scored 15 points along with 5 rebounds and the latter scored 17 points along with 9 rebounds. That makes it three consecutive games in which Hulett has scored at least 25% of Mineral Ridge's points. Kelcee Dye was another key contributor, scoring 6 points along with 6 rebounds and 3 steals.
Heartland Christian's win bumped their season record to 0-0 while Liberty's loss dropped theirs to 0-1.
Everything came up roses for Liberty against Mineral Ridge in their previous meeting back in February of 2022 as the squad secured a 46-14 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Liberty since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
