Top games: Orono visits Waconia with conference's division title at stake

By Tim Kolehmainen, SportsEngine, 03/08/21, 12:30PM CST

March 12: The Spartans seek revenge on the Wildcats in a key Wright County Conference East Division showdown.

Orono travels to Waconia Friday in an attempt to tie the Wildcats for the Wright County Conference East Division title. Photo by Mark Hvidsten, SportsEngine

We task our reporters with identifying several intriguing games throughout the state to assemble our Top Games of the Week. The matchups are presented in no particular order, and when there are additional games we want to highlight, we’ll include them with brief notes.

Other games to keep an eye on

Holy Angels vs. St. Croix Lutheran, 7 p.m., Thursday, March 11. The top two teams in the Tri-Metro Conference standings, No. 3-3A Holy Angels and No. 7-3A St. Croix Lutheran, meet in a rematch from earlier this winter. Both are legitimate Class 3A state tournament contenders, but the Stars (14-1) edged the Crusaders (10-4) 64-61 back on Feb. 9. Holy Angels' Kassandra Caron poured in 24 points to outpace a 25-point effort from Juel Skrien of St. Croix Lutheran.

Hopkins vs. Becker, 7 p.m., Friday, March 12. The battle between top-ranked powerhouses in Class 4A (Hopkins) and Class 3A (Becker) was delayed last week when the Royals (12-0) entered a voluntary COVID-related pause last week, but they're scheduled to resume the rivalry this Friday at Becker (14-0).