The Southern Rams will challenge the Smithsburg Leopards at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Southern is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Saturday. They claimed a resounding 70-23 win over Snow Hill. Winning may never get old, but the Rams sure are getting used to it with their eighth in a row.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Southern to victory, but perhaps none more so than Carly Wilt, who went 6-for-9 en route to 16 points. Another player making a difference was Joycelyn Ward, who posted ten points and six rebounds.
Southern smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 16 offensive boards. That's the most offensive rebounds they've posted since back in December of 2024.
Meanwhile, Smithsburg had already won four in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 17.8 points) and they went ahead and made it five on Friday. They took their contest with ease, bagging a 72-34 victory over the Panthers.
Smithsburg's win came from a few key players Southern will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Skyla Mastronardi, who shot 60% from the field to rack up 21 points in addition to eight assists and five steals. She has been hot, having posted two or more steals the last six times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Claire Bono, who almost dropped a double-double with 12 points and nine boards.
Southern's win was their sixth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 23-2. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 62.2 points over those games. As for Smithsburg, their record is now 20-4.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Southern has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 25.9 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Smithsburg struggles in that department as they've been averaging 29.6 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Everything went Southern's way against Smithsburg in their previous meeting back in March of 2017, as Southern made off with a 61-37 victory. Will Southern repeat their success, or does Smithsburg have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
