Basketball Game Preview: Lawrence Golden Tornadoes vs. Friends Academy Quakers

Lawrence hasn't had much luck against Friends Academy recently, but that could start to change on Saturday. The Lawrence Golden Tornadoes will host the Friends Academy Quakers. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, both will really light up the scoreboard.

Lawrence is headed into Saturday's game looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their 28th straight game dating back to last season on Friday. They were dealt an 89-62 defeat at the hands of North Shore. One positive for the Golden Tornadoes, at least, is that this was the most points they've scored all season.

Meanwhile, Friends Academy didn't have quite enough to beat Garden City on Sunday and fell 76-74. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their prior game on Friday (65), the Quakers still had to take the loss.

Despite the loss, Friends Academy saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Eyan Valadez almost dropped a triple-double on 22 points, nine rebounds, and 11 assists. The match was Valadez's third in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Chase O'Brien, who almost dropped a double-double on ten points and nine boards.

Even though they lost, Friends Academy was working as a unit and finished the game with 21 assists. That's the most assists they've posted since back in February of 2024.

Friends Academy's defeat dropped their record down to 8-5. As for Lawrence, their loss dropped their record down to 0-9.

Lawrence was dealt a bruising 59-27 defeat at the hands of Friends Academy in their previous meeting back in December of 2024. That contest was all but decided by halftime, at which point Lawrence was down 41-5.