Centennial vs. Park Center
7 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 10

If Centennial has aspirations of erasing last year's early exit from the Class 4A, Section 5 playoffs by winning the title this season, the Cougars need show they can compete with their postseason rivals. And there's no better game to do this than in Tuesday's matchup against defending section champ Park Center.

Centennial seems to have the defensive capability to challenge the Pirates, having allowed opponents to average 39 points through the first nine games this season.

The defense run ended when the No. 5-4A Cougars lost to No. 4-4A Apple Valley 81-67 victory in the Roseville Tournament championship game. Centennial (11-1, 3-0) rebounded with back-to-back victories, including a 76-54 win over Andover behind the play of Sydney Stapleton and Sara Stapleton, who combined for 48 points.

Meghan DuBois' team-high 20 points helped Park Center  snap a three-game losing streak with a 73-55 win over Robbinsdale Armstrong on Jan. 6. Sommer Blakemore added 17 points and Danielle Schaub had 16 for the Pirates (6-4, 3-0) in the win.