Preview: Roane County Yellowjackets vs. Sweetwater Wildcats
After three games on the road, Roane County is heading back home. After both having extra time off, the Roane County Yellowjackets and the Sweetwater Wildcats will dust off their jerseys to challenge one another at 6:00 p.m. on January 23rd. Having both just faced considerable losses, both teams are looking to turn things around on Tuesday.
Roane County suffered their biggest defeat yet this season on January 5th. They were beaten by McMinn Central 79-31. The result shouldn't come as a shock considering that's the fewest points Roane County has scored all season.
Sweetwater won a close one the last time they played, but unfortunately they suffered a serious change of fortune two weeks ago. They took a serious blow against McMinn Central, falling 81-16. While losing is never fun, Sweetwater can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Tennessee basketball rankings (they are ranked 333rd, while McMinn Central is ranked third).
Despite the defeat, Sweetwater saw an underclassman step up: Lilly Woodruff scored 11 points along with seven rebounds.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Sweetwater struggled to get the ball back on offense and finished the game with only three offensive rebounds. That's the fewest offensive rebounds they've managed all season.
Roane County's defeat dropped their record down to 8-5. As for Sweetwater, they bumped their record down to 2-13 with that defeat, which was their fifth straight on the road.
Everything came up roses for Roane County against Sweetwater when the teams last played back in December of 2023 as the team secured a 70-37 win. Does Roane County have another victory up their sleeve, or will Sweetwater turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
