Basketball Game Preview: Marietta Blue Devils vs. Starr's Mill Panthers

The Marietta Blue Devils and the Starr's Mill Panthers will face off at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday without much rest having both just played.

Marietta saw some tournament action on Friday. They took a 54-49 hit to the loss column at the hands of Bishop Kenny. While losing is never fun, the Blue Devils can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 73rd in Georgia, while the Crusaders are ranked 14th in Florida).

Despite the loss, Marietta saw an underclassman step up: freshman Leah DeWitt shot 6-for-8 from long range and dropped a double-double on 28 points and ten boards. The contest was DeWitt's 14th in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Kyann Senior, who posted nine points and six rebounds.

Even though they lost, Marietta smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 16 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 13 offensive rebounds in three consecutive games.

Meanwhile, Starr's Mill had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 31 points) and they went ahead and made it three on Friday. They took their matchup with ease, bagging a 54-27 victory over the Lions. The Panthers have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won six contests by 20 points or more this season.

Starr's Mill has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven games, which provided a nice bump to their 9-3 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 29.3 points per game. As for Marietta, their defeat dropped their record down to 8-6.

Marietta took their win against Starr's Mill when the teams last played back in January of 2019 by a conclusive 57-33. Does Marietta have another victory up their sleeve, or will Starr's Mill turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.