Preview: Austintown-Fitch Falcons vs. Walsh Jesuit Warriors
Austintown-Fitch has enjoyed a three-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will challenge the Walsh Jesuit Warriors at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. Hopefully Austintown-Fitch focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 18 on Saturday.
Last Saturday, Austintown-Fitch didn't have too much breathing room in their matchup against Hathaway Brown, but they still walked away with a 36-32 victory. That's two games straight that Austintown-Fitch has won by exactly four points.
Ayla Ray was the offensive standout of the contest as she scored 19 points along with 6 rebounds and 3 steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Destanie Mccullough, who scored 9 points along with 10 rebounds and 5 steals.
Meanwhile, Walsh Jesuit didn't have too much trouble with Padua Franciscan on the road on Wednesday as they won 71-53.
Walsh Jesuit can attribute much of their success to Kara Courtad, who dropped a double-double on 23 points and 12 rebounds. Another player making a difference was Taylor Angielski, who scored 17 points along with 5 rebounds and 3 steals.
Austintown-Fitch's win bumped their season record to 3-1 while Hathaway Brown's loss dropped theirs to 1-2.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Austintown-Fitch have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 23.8 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Walsh Jesuit struggles in that department as they've been even better at 37 per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out. Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other basketball content.
Austintown-Fitch was taken down by Walsh Jesuit 64-31 in their previous meeting back in December of 2022. Thankfully for Austintown-Fitch, Meg Taraba (who dropped a double-double on 15 points and 12 rebounds) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
