It may be weeks before the South Suburban Conference has a bigger contest this season than Friday's showdown between Farmington and Shakopee.
Both teams enter this week undefeated in league play and boast a combined 19-1 overall record.
Each squad has another conference matchup on Tuesday — Farmington duels with Prior Lake and Shakopee plays Lakeville South — but winning Friday's tilt could provide a crucial one-game advantage in the South Suburban standings.
A victory becomes even more urgent for both teams as Lakeville North and Eastview are 3-1 in conference games and lurk a game behind in the league title race, helping make this intriguing matchup between Farmington and Shakopee our Top Game of the Week.
The Tigers (10-0, 4-0), ranked No. 4 in Class 4A by Minnesota Basketball News from Jan. 2, and the Sabers (9-1, 4-0) have multiple scoring options, which should prevent defenses from shutting down the offenses and keep this game free-flowing and high scoring.
The Tigers’ well-rounded offense features Paige Kindseth, Sophie Hart and Molly Mogensen, who each average more than 12.6 points per game — lead by Kindseth's 13.7. The trio combine for 39.5 ppg, which accounts for more than half of the team’s scoring average (66.7 ppg).
The Sabers offense boasts four different players who average more than 10 points a game, including Jaley Coplin and her team-best 12 ppg. Natalie Holte, Isabell West and Kelley Brennan are the other three, and the quintet is responsible for 46.4 ppg.