Basketball Game Preview: Southern Rams vs. Smithsburg Leopards

The Southern Rams will face off against the Smithsburg Leopards on Friday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Southern comes in on seven and Smithsburg on four.

Southern is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Wednesday. They claimed a resounding 67-28 victory over Allegany. The Rams have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 12 matchups by 22 points or more this season.

Meanwhile, Smithsburg hadn't done well against Catoctin recently (they were 1-8 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Wednesday. Smithsburg managed a 40-35 win over Catoctin. The 40-point effort marked the Leopards' lowest-scoring game of the season, but in the end it didn't matter.

Smithsburg found their leader in sophomore Claire Bono, who almost dropped a double-double with 17 points and nine rebounds. Bono's evening made it three games in a row in which she has scored at least 15 points. Another player making a difference was Skyla Mastronardi, who posted 11 points and four steals.

Smithsburg pushed their record up to 19-4 with the victory, which was their 11th straight at home. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 59.0 points over those games. As for Southern, their win bumped their record up to 22-2.

Southern took their victory against Smithsburg when the teams last played back in March of 2017 by a conclusive 61-37. Does Southern have another victory up their sleeve, or will Smithsburg turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.