Basketball Game Preview: Albany Academy for Girls Bears vs. Shaker Bison

The Albany Academy for Girls Bears are taking a road trip to face off against the Shaker Bison at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.

Albany Academy for Girls is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They blew past Syracuse Academy of Science 82-9 on Sunday. The Bears have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won six matches by 27 points or more this season.

Meanwhile, Shaker came tearing into Sunday's contest with three straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 12.3 points) and they left with even more momentum. They wrapped up 2024 with a 58-43 victory over the Warriors. Given the Bison's advantage in MaxPreps' New York basketball rankings (they are ranked 12th, while the Warriors are ranked 112th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Shaker's win came from a few key players Albany Academy for Girls will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Peyton Hoblock, who went 7 of 11 en route to 14 points and six steals. She is on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed two or more in the last three games she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Jayla Geter, who posted 20 points.

Shaker smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with ten offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive boards in three consecutive games.

Shaker's win bumped their record up to 6-2. As for Albany Academy for Girls, the victory made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 6-1.