Basketball Game Preview: Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy Gryphons vs. Queen's Grant Stallions

Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy has won nine straight games at home, while Queen's Grant has won nine straight on the road, but those streaks won't matter much on Friday. The Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy Gryphons will host the Queen's Grant Stallions at 6:00 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. They blew past East Wilkes, posting a 70-31 win.

Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Samara Jones, who posted 29 points in addition to five rebounds and four steals, and Brooklyn Twitty, who put up 18 points and three steals. That makes it three consecutive games in which Jones has scored at least a third of Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy's points. Another player making a difference was Zoee Lowrance, who earned six points.

Meanwhile, Queen's Grant made easy work of Draughn on Tuesday and carried off a 78-53 victory. The game was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 50-25.

Queen's Grant's win came from a few key players Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Za'Miya Bynum, who went 17-for-31 en route to 40 points and seven steals. Her big performance that evening made it 24 games in a row in which she has scored at least 15 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Casey Smith, who dropped a double-double with 18 points and 15 boards.

Queen's Grant has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 15 of their last 17 matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 21-4 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 27.4 points over those games. Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy's win bumped their record up to 20-6.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 31.7 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Queen's Grant struggles in that department as they've been averaging 24.8 boards. 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.