In what has been a back-and-forth matchup the past few years, DeLaSalle visits Tri-Metro Conference foe St. Croix Lutheran on Friday.
These league rivals from different divisions play only once in the regular season, so this is the lone shot for the West Division's Islanders to record a bounce-back win following last year's 53-45 loss to the East Division Crusaders.
For No. 9-3A DeLaSalle (9-5, 3-0) to get the victory, it could use a big-time performance from Nurjei Weems (14.7 ppg), who finished with 32 points in a 77-39 win against Fridley on Jan. 22.
St. Croix Lutheran (14-5, 4-0) will try to extend its winning streak against DeLaSalle to two games behind a balanced offense that features three players averaging between 10-10.9 points per game. But the X-factor on Friday may be Laura Hauge, who, despite her 8.6 points per game, has shown signs of being a lethal scorer. She had a season-high 35 points in an 83-54 win over Concordia Academy on Jan. 15.