Every athletic team has a rival, someone that they dread to play but want to beat so badly. For the St. Paul Academy and Summit School girls varsity basketball team, these teams are the Providence Academy Lions and De La Salle High School Islanders. Though the regular season has ended, both Providence Academy and De La Salle High School are competing in the state tournament along with the other top seven teams in their class division. Providence Academy, a member of Class 2A, is now in the semifinals after a victory over Pine Island High School.

De La Salle is also in the semifinal for the Class 3A division. Though it may seem that these teams would be frustrating to play, junior varsity basketball player Jonte Claiborne disagrees. “I personally like it because it is nice to have competition at a higher level in our conference,” Claiborne said. “It makes out sections and Tri Metro Conference look really good.” The championships for Classes A-AAAA are on Sunday, Mar. 17 at Target Center. You can catch all the action on KSTP-TV news channel.