Basketball Game Preview: Audenried vs. Friends' Central

Audenried will take on Friends' Central at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. Audenried is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 67 points per game this season.

Last Monday, Audenried was fully in charge, breezing past Freire Charter 55-18. Given Audenried's advantage in MaxPreps' Pennsylvania basketball rankings (they are ranked 16th, while Freire Charter is ranked 140th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Audenried relied on the efforts of Shayla Smith, who almost dropped a double-double on 19 points and nine rebounds, and Nasiaah Russell, who dropped a double-double on 13 points and 12 boards. Russell is on a roll when it comes to rebounds, as she's now pulled down 11 or more in the last three games she's played. Another player making a difference was Senaya Parker, who posted six points and five assists.

Audenried smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive rebounds in seven consecutive matchups.

Academy-Notre Dame De Namur typically has all the answers at home, but on Thursday Friends' Central proved too difficult a challenge. They had just enough and edged Academy-Notre Dame De Namur out 51-49. The win made it back-to-back victories for Friends' Central.

Audenried pushed their record up to 15-6 with the win, which was their eighth straight on the road dating back to last season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 69.1 points per game. As for Friends' Central, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven games, which provided a nice bump to their 20-7 record this season.

Audenried ended up a good deal behind Friends' Central when the teams last played back in December of 2023, losing 80-61. Can Audenried avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.