The Boardman Spartans waltzed into their matchup on Saturday with four straight wins but they left with five. They walked away with a 56-44 victory over Austintown-Fitch. Given Boardman's advantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 47th, while the Falcons are ranked 136th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
It was another big night for Mackenzie Riccitelli, who scored 28 points along with six assists and six rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Mary catherine Werth, who scored nine points along with five rebounds and four blocks.
Austintown-Fitch lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Destanie Mccullough, who almost dropped a double-double on 11 points and nine rebounds. Another player making a difference was Rachel Spalding, who scored seven points.
Boardman has been performing well recently as they've won nine of their last 11 matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 13-4 record this season. As for Austintown-Fitch, they are on a three-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 11-6.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Boardman will square off against the at 6:15 p.m. on Monday. East will be looking to keep their three-game home win streak alive. Austintown-Fitch will be staying on the road on Wednesday to face off against the Tigers at 7:00 p.m. on January 31st.
