St. Cloud Apollo and Eden Prairie have difficult schedules, and both are looking for a spark to turn their seasons around before it's too late.
St. Cloud Apollo (9-7, 2-6) resides in the Central Lakes Conference and faces powerhouses such as No. 6-3A Willmar, No. 11-3A Fergus Falls and No. 14-3A Alexandria.
Eden Prairie (8-8, 0-3) competes in the brutal Lake Conference, where it must play No. 2-4A Wayzata and No. 3-4A Hopkins, which defeated the Eagles 68-60 last Friday.
With little opportunity to win their respective conferences, St. Cloud Apollo and Eden Prairie can turn their attention toward improving each game and getting ready for the postseason.
St. Cloud Apollo's offense is led by Lariah Washington, one of the best scorers in Minnesota this season. She averages 26.5 ppg, sixth-most in the state, and her season high came in a 70-65 win against Becker on Jan. 2, when she scored 35 points -- half of her team’s total.
If Eden Prairie is going to be successful in this matchup, it’ll need to rely on its defense, which has allowed 54.2 ppg this season.
Offensively, Nnecka Obiazor has led the way with 15.2 ppg, and she'll need to produce extra to help Eden Prairie keep pace with Washington.