Hill-Murray's only loss on the year was a 67-42 decision to Wayzata on Dec. 29 in the championship of the Pioneers' home holiday tournament. It was the third game in three days for a Hill-Murray squad that is proving to be a contender in Class 3A, where Minnesota Basketball News has the at Pioneers positioned in the top spot in the rankings released Jan. 16.
It's not that the competition has been easy for Hill-Murray, who has outscored opponents 970-630 this season and has victories over No. 9-4A Forest Lake (40-29) and No. 5-2A Holy Family Catholic (45-43) in addition to the loss to the No. 2-4A Trojans. The Pioneers recorded narrow victories over two teams with sub-.500 records, holding on for a 49-46 victory over Metro East Conference rival Mahtomedi last Friday and posting a 35-33 win over Edina in mid-December.
After losing to Wayzata, Hill-Murray bounced back with five consecutive league victories to take a one-game lead over Simley in the Metro East standings.
On Friday, the Pioneers travel to play a Spartans team looking to dethrone not only the top team in the league standings but also the top team in the Class 3A rankings, making their showdown a perfect selection for our Top Game of the Week.
Both schools have Metro East contests before Friday, but this meeting could determine which team is the title favorite heading into the final weeks of the regular season.
The Pioneers (15-1, 5-0) employ an across-the-board offensive attack, with three players averaging more than 10 points per game: Bella Hartzel (11.5), Delaney D. Runyon (11.4) and Lilli Mackley (10.5).
Simley is riding a six-game winning streak, and the No. 9-3A Spartans (12-3, 4-0) can put up big numbers on offense thanks to the dynamic scoring duo of Ysareia Chevre and Sydney Stensgard, who combine to average 30.1 points per game.