The Smithsburg girls basketball team is just two wins away from an MPSSAA Class 1A state title.
Winning that championship, however, will be easier said than done for the Leopards, who are set to continue their postseason journey on Tuesday evening with a semifinal contest against Southern Garrett.
The No. 1-seeded Rams, who took second in the state last year, promise to be Smithsburg’s toughest opponent of the season. The Leopards, who feature three players averaging double-figure scoring, won’t go down without a fight.
We’ve selected this win-or-home contest as our Game of the Week.
In the weeks and months to come throughout the high school sports season, we plan on spotlighting multiple teams and sports with our Game of the Week. Any big upcoming games or meets we should know about? Send suggestions to Andy Sandrik via email at [email protected].
MPSSAA Class 1A State Semifinals
Southern Garrett vs. Smithsburg
Tip-off: Tuesday, 6 p.m., at Allegany County Community College
Records: Southern enters this contest with a 23-2 record, while Smithsburg checks in at 20-4.
Last game: The No. 1-seeded Rams are coming off a 70-23 rout over No. 8 Hill in the state quarterfinal round, while the No. 4 Leopards advanced with a 72-34 victory over No. 5 Perryville.
What’s at stake: The winner advances to the MPSSAA 1A championship game to square off against either No. 2 Forest Park or No. 3 Pikesville.
Meet the Rams: Southern Garrett is eager for a chance to get back to the state title game after falling to Pikesville, 48-39, in last year’s final … Head coach Landon Todd’s Rams have been blowing teams out this season, with the team averaging 60.5 points per game, while only allowing 38.4 points per night … Southern is led by two girls who average double-digit scoring: Carly Wilt and Jayden Weaver … Wilt, a 5-foot-8 senior guard, is pouring in 13.0 ppg, while Weaver, a 5-foot-6 sophomore guard, is averaging 11.2 points per contest … Junior guard Emelee Parks is frequent contributor for the Rams in points (8.6 ppg), rebounds (3.6 rpg), and assists (3.5 apg) … Joycelyn Ward, a 6-foot freshman power forward, has been an impact player, averaging 7.6 points per game and 4.6 rebounds per night … Southern boasts a deep bench that includes Gabbi Berry (6.6 ppg, 2.4 rpg), Kelsey Ward (5.5 ppg, 4.2 rpg), Gabrielle Stem (2.7 ppg, 1.4 rpg), and Abigail Teets (2.5 ppg).
Meet the Leopards: Head coach Todd Bono enters this crucial contest on a five-game winning streak … Smithsburg is scoring 57 points per game, while allowing just 39 points per night … The Leopards are headlined by two girls who are averaging nearly a double-double: Skyla Mastronardi and Claire Bono … Mastronardi, a junior guard, leads Smithsburg in scoring (17.4 ppg) and rebounding (8.3 rpg) and is among team leaders in assists (3.1 apg) and steals (3.8 spg) … Sophomore Bono, also a guard, has posted similar outputs in points (14.6 ppg), rebounds (8.1 rpg), assists (4 apg), and steals (4.3 spg), while also checking in with 1.3 blocks per game … Jillian Malott (10.7 ppg) is third-leading scorer for Smithsburg, which also gets contributions from Maren McFarland (5.9 ppg), Molly Weaver (4.4 ppg, 4.3 rpg), and Macy Peters (1.5 ppg, 2.6 rpg) … Four Smithsburg players reside on our Local.News1 3-point leaderboards: Mastronardi (60), Malott (49), Bono (42), and McFarland (28).
Sandrik’s pick: Southern Garrett by 4
