John F. Kennedy Catholic is 0-6 against Rootstown since January of 2021 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Wednesday. The John F. Kennedy Catholic Eagles will head out on the road to challenge the Rootstown Rovers at 6:30 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
On Monday, John F. Kennedy Catholic blew past Cleveland Central Catholic, posting a 72-28 win at home. The score at the end of the third wound up being the final score as John F. Kennedy Catholic just coasted through the last quarter.
John F. Kennedy Catholic can attribute much of their success to Gianna Pompelia, who scored 15 points along with seven assists and five steals, and Didi Ryan, who almost dropped a double-double on 15 points and nine assists. Ryan is crushing the steal category: she's posted at least two every time she's taken the court this season. Another player making a difference was Addy Odille, who scored eight points along with ten rebounds and two steals.
Meanwhile, Rootstown waltzed into their game on Monday with five straight wins but they left with six. They blew past Windham 67-24 at home. Given Rootstown's advantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 100th, while Windham is ranked 599th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Rootstown's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Brooklynn McIntyre led the charge by scoring six points along with 16 rebounds and three blocks. McIntyre has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last four times she's played. Nadia Lough was another key contributor, scoring 14 points along with five rebounds and four blocks.
John F. Kennedy Catholic's win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 15-5. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 69.3 points per game. As for Rootstown, their win bumped their record up to 19-2.
John F. Kennedy Catholic came up short against Rootstown in their previous matchup back in January, falling 55-45. Can John F. Kennedy Catholic avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
