Our Top Game of the Week features Robbinsdale Cooper, ranked third in Class 3A by Minnesota Basketball News, against No. 1-3A DeLaSalle at the Breakdown Girls' Invitational in Minnetonka Saturday.
Robbinsdale Cooper is new to Class 3A this season and looks to take advantage of its new competition level. The Hawks finished last year with a 66-44 loss to Wayzata in the Class 4A, Section 6 semifinals — arguably the toughest big-school section in the state with the Trojans and eventual state runner-up Hopkins dominating play in the regular and postseasons.
Now that Robbinsdale Cooper has moved down, it's one of the early season favorites to compete for the Class 3A title. If the Hawks make the state tournament this season, there’s a good chance that they’ll have to get through DeLaSalle at some point to win the state championship.
Robbinsdale Cooper (1-0) won its opening game 79-59 over Minneapolis North last Tuesday behind a game-high 23 points from Aja Wheeler.
The Hawks' matchup versus DeLaSalle will be just their third of the season, making them a rested squad that's had a lot of time to prepare for the Islanders. It also gives Robbinsdale Cooper a chance to see how it stacks up against the new Class 3A competition.
DeLaSalle has been busier in the early going. It opened its season with blowout wins against Totino-Grace (69-25 on Nov. 24) and Holy Family Catholic (52-36 on Nov. 25) in the Thanksgiving Tip-Off Tournament at the University of St. Thomas.
The Islanders, however, hit a roadblock against No. 6-3A Mahtomedi, losing 51-36 at the Breakdown Tip Off Classic last Saturday.
Nora Francois, who had a season-high 18 points against Totino-Grace, Kiani Lockett, Nurjei Weems and Ayanna Gardner have scored in double figures at least once this season for DeLaSalle (2-1).