Basketball Game Preview: Akron Rams vs. Holyoke Dragons

The Akron Rams will face off against the Holyoke Dragons at 8:45 a.m. on Friday. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this game.

Akron saw some tournament action on Tuesday. They took a 47-43 hit to the loss column at the hands of Byers.

Molly O'Neil

Rebounds

12/14/24 vs Heritage Christian	21
01/11/25 @ Stratton	17
02/22/25 @ Briggsdale	16
02/25/25 @ Byers	14
02/07/25 @ Byers	14
+ 16 more games

Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the best came from Molly O'Neil, who dropped a double-double with 15 points and 14 boards. She is becoming a predictor of Akron's success: when she posts at least ten rebounds the team is 9-4 (and 2-6 when she doesn't). Another player making a difference was Kashlee Randel, who posted 17 points and six boards.

Even though they lost, Akron smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive boards. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Byers only nine offensive rebounds.

Meanwhile, Holyoke was not able to break out of their rough patch on Tuesday as the team picked up their 13th straight loss. They were dealt a 58-14 defeat at the hands of Merino. While losing is never fun, the Dragons can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Colorado basketball rankings (they are ranked 222nd in Colorado, while the Rams are ranked 17th in Colorado).

Akron's loss dropped their record down to 11-10. As for Holyoke, their defeat dropped their record down to 3-18.

Akron took their win against Holyoke in their previous meeting back in January by a conclusive 55-33. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Holyoke's Ellie Kleve, who almost dropped a double-double with 19 points and nine rebounds. Now that she's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Akron still be able to contain Kleve? There's only one way to find out.