Rolette-Wolford dropped two games to Rolla-Rock Lake during the regular season, but it’s the third meeting which will be the most important between the two rivals.

The No. 6 seeded Comets will face No. 3 Rolla-Rock Lake in a first- round game at the District 8 girls basketball tournament in Cando this Thursday, Feb. 11 at 7:30 p.m.

“We are very familiar with them, so we don’t have to over-stress about match ups and who their top scorers are,’ said R-W coach Jill Murtaugh. “We played them tough the first game at home before getting beat in the second meeting in Rolla. We like the fact we’ll get them on a neutral court.”

R-W led by four points over the talented Bulldogs in the first meeting before the Bulldogs rallied for the win. If the Comets can get perimeter scoring, they feel they have a good chance of staying with R-RL.

That’s been a sore spot of late. “We’re getting the open shots, but they just are not going in,’ Murtaugh said.

R-W is expected to get Alexa Martinson back in the lineup for the game. The starter has been out with a foot injury and the Comets have missed her defensive play in the post.

Cutting down on turnovers and playing strong defense must also be part of the Comets’ game plan.

“We just want to play loose and relaxed,’ Murtaugh said. “The pressure is on them.”

M-Leeds is the No. 2 seed

Minnewaukan-Leeds didn’t get the top seed, but the Lions still like where they sit heading into the District 8 Tournament. The Lions are the No. 2 seed and will face No. 7 St. John in a first round game on Thursday, Feb. 11 at 6 p.m. The Woodchucks did not win a district game this season.

Lions coach Travis Risovi said it’s a new season and the focus is playing well and finding a way to advance.

If M-L does advance past St. John, they would meet the winner of the Rolla-Rock Lake/Rolette-Wolford game in a semifinal on Friday, Feb. 12.

Langdon earns the top seed

After winning a season-high four straight games in middle January, the Lions have struggled down the stretch, dropping four out of their last five games. However, the squad has also faced some strong opponents in that stretch.

Langdon earned the tournament’s top seed and won’t have to play a first round game since there is just seven teams in the tournament.

The Cardinals are already set to play in a Friday, Feb. 12 semifinal and will play the winner of the No. 4 Munich-Starkweather/North Star first round game.

Picking a favorite is difficult. Langdon, Minn.-Leeds and Rolla-Rock Lake all had just one loss in district play, and those three teams are quite capable of winning the title. Starkweather-Munich has also played those teams tough and would be a dark horse.

The tournament wraps up on Saturday, Feb. 13 with two region-qualifying games and the championship.