Mineral Ridge has enjoyed the comforts of home their last two games, but now they'll head out on the road. They will wrap up 2023 with a road trip to face off against the Leetonia Bears at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.
Last Thursday, Mineral Ridge was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap as they fell 54-49 to Springfield. The loss put an end to Mineral Ridge's undefeated start to the season.
Mineral Ridge's loss came about despite a quality game from Ava Hulett, who scored 25 points along with nine rebounds and three steals. The contest was Hulett's ninth in a row with at least ten points. Sullivan Sandy was another key contributor, scoring six points along with four steals.
Meanwhile, this season hasn't been kind to Leetonia, who are still winless after their eighth game. They suffered a rough 36-12 defeat at the hands of Heartland Christian on Thursday.
Mineral Ridge's loss ended a four-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 8-1. As for Leetonia, their loss was their ninth straight on the road dating back to last season, which bumped their record down to 0-8.
Things could have been worse for Mineral Ridge, but things could have been a whole lot better as they took a 59-45 loss to Leetonia in their previous meeting back in December of 2016. Can Mineral Ridge avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
