Basketball Game Preview: Mineral Ridge Rams vs. Columbiana Clippers

The Mineral Ridge Rams will wrap up 2024 with a road trip to face off against the Columbiana Clippers at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. Mineral Ridge is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 53.4 points per game this season.

Last Monday, Mineral Ridge beat Western Reserve 51-39.

Mineral Ridge's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Ava Hulett, who dropped a double-double on 17 points and ten boards, and Sullivan Sandy, who went 6 of 15 on her way to 16 points and four steals. Sandy is trending in the right direction considering she's improved her point production for three straight games. The team also got some help courtesy of Kylee Molnar, who posted five points.

Meanwhile, Columbiana put another one in the bag on Monday to keep their perfect season alive. They blew past Beaver Local 51-16. The Clippers have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won five matches by 27 points or more this season.

Columbiana pushed their record up to 8-0 with the win, which was their sixth straight at home. Those victories came thanks to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 18.8 points per game. As for Mineral Ridge, their victory bumped their record up to 6-2.

Mineral Ridge didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against Columbiana in their previous meeting back in January, but they still walked away with a 45-39 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Mineral Ridge since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.