Basketball Game Preview: Northfield Raiders vs. Albert Lea Tigers

The Northfield Raiders will face off against the Albert Lea Tigers at 7:30 p.m. on Monday. Northfield is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 54.7 points per game this season.

Northfield will bounce into Monday's match after beating John Marshall, who they had gone 2-7 against in their nine prior meetings. Northfield skirted past John Marshall 49-46. While the Raiders didn't have the best season last year (they finished 7-20), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past.

Northfield found their leader in freshman Callie Lynch, who posted 15 points and four steals. Those four steals set a new season-high mark for Lynch. The team also got some help courtesy of Amber Mahal, who earned seven points and eight rebounds.

Meanwhile, it's never fun to lose, and it's even less fun to lose 78-38, which was the final score in Albert Lea's tilt against Triton on Monday. While losing is never fun, the Tigers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Minnesota basketball rankings (they are ranked 313th, while the Cobras are ranked 93rd).

Albert Lea dropped their record down to 3-11 with the defeat, which was their 21st straight on the road dating back to last season. As for Northfield, their win bumped their record up to 6-4.

Everything came up roses for Northfield against Albert Lea when the teams last played back in February of 2024, as the team secured an 80-45 victory. Will Northfield repeat their success, or does Albert Lea have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.