This week’s top game features the two best teams in a stacked Lake Conference.
Despite this being an even matchup on paper — Hopkins owns a 13-1 overall record and Wayzata is 14-0 — it's been a one-sided rivalry in recent years.
Since the 2010-11 season, these teams have played 18 times, with the Royals winning 17. They also won the four matchups in the Class 4A, Section 6 tournament.
Hopkins has not only consistently topped the Trojans but the Royals have won in dominant fashion -- by an average of 25.5 points.
The good news for Wayzata is all of those losses are in the past. At this moment, the undefeated Trojans are No. 2 in the Minnesota Basketball News Class 4A rankings, one spot ahead of the Royals.
Hopkins is still the favorite to win the Lake Conference for the fourth-straight season, led by 5-foot-11 sophomore guard Paige Bueckers (23.1 points per game) and senior Raena Suggs (15.3 ppg).
But this is Wayzata’s best chance in years to finally overtake its longtime nemesis — not only in the Lake Conference, but also in the postseason.
A win on Friday would be a huge confidence-booster for a Trojans team eyeing a state tournament run. To accomplish both, they’ll need leading scorer Kallie Theisen (15.1 points per game) to perform the rest of the season like she did against Maranatha Christian on Wednesday, when she scored a season-high 30 points.