The Franklin Academy Patriots are taking a road trip to take on the East Wake Academy Eagles at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday.
Franklin Academy is probably headed into the matchup with a chip on their shoulder considering North Johnston just ended the team's four-game winning streak on Friday. They opened the new year with a less-than-successful 32-25 defeat to the Panthers. While losing is never fun, the Patriots can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 282nd, while the Panthers are ranked 77th).
The losing side was boosted by Iliana Rodriguez, who dropped a double-double on 14 points and ten boards. She has become a key player for Franklin Academy: the team is undefeated when she posts at least eight rebounds, but 3-4 otherwise. The team also got some help courtesy of Rayne Bookhart, who posted five points.
Even though they lost, Franklin Academy smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 11 offensive boards in 11 consecutive games.
Meanwhile, a well-balanced attack led East Wake Academy over American Leadership Academy-Johnston in every quarter on their way to victory back in December of 2024. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that East Wake Academy blew American Leadership Academy-Johnston out of the water with a 55-13 final score. With the Eagles ahead 29-8 at the half, the contest was all but over already.
Franklin Academy better keep an eye on Emma Roche. She was instrumental in East Wake Academy's win, dropping a double-double on 31 points and 12 boards. Roche is crushing it when it comes to rebounds: she's pulled down at least eight every time she's taken the court this season. Another player making a difference was Leila Gonzalez, who had 21 points and four steals.
The victory was the third in a row for East Wake Academy, bringing their record for this year to 7-2. Those victories came thanks to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 17.7 points per game. As for Franklin Academy, their loss dropped their record down to 7-4.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Franklin Academy has crashing the boards this season, having averaged 38.4 rebounds per game. However, it's not like East Wake Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging 28.9 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Franklin Academy strolled past East Wake Academy in their previous matchup back in February of 2024 by a score of 52-35. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Roche, who dropped a double-double on 18 points and 20 boards. Now that she's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Franklin Academy still be able to contain Roche? There's only one way to find out.
