Basketball Game Preview: First Coast Buccaneers vs. Bishop Snyder Cardinals

The First Coast Buccaneers will head out to square off against the Bishop Snyder Cardinals at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. First Coast has a tough task ahead: they'll enter the matchup with six straight losses, while Bishop Snyder will come in with five straight victories.

Last Friday, First Coast had to suffer through a 58-11 loss at the hands of Oakleaf. While losing is never fun, the Buccaneers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 538th, while the Knights are ranked 237th).

Despite the defeat, First Coast had strong showings from Aray Bell, who posted eight points along with six boards and three steals, and Halima Saad, who earned two points.

Meanwhile, Bishop Snyder beat Ponte Vedra 48-39 back in December of 2024.

Bishop Snyder's win came from a few key players First Coast will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Shelby Gaines, who dropped a double-double on 18 points and 11 rebounds. She has been hot, having posted eight or more boards the last six times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Bryonna Grimes, who went 5 of 10 on her way to 15 points.

Bishop Snyder smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive rebounds in 11 consecutive contests.

Bishop Snyder is on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight games, which provided a nice bump to their 11-4 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 51.3 points per game. As for First Coast, their loss dropped their record down to 2-9.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: First Coast has crashing the boards this season, having averaged 31.8 boards per game. However, it's not like Bishop Snyder struggles in that department as they've been averaging 31.5 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.