Thanks to Blizzard Brianna, De Pere has tough back-to-back games

No basketball teams benefited from losing a day of practice or postponing a game Thursday because of "Blizzard Brianna," but some teams likely were affected in a negative way.

One of those teams that comes to mind is the De Pere girls basketball team. Nobody is going to feel sorry for the defending Division 1 state champs, who haven't loss since last December, but the blizzard puts the Redbirds in an interesting situation.

First, De Pere travels to Manitowoc on Friday for a Fox River Classic Conference game in a battle of unbeatens. Tip time about 7:15 p.m. Then on Saturday, De Pere travels to Algoma for a 3 p.m. tip, which means De Pere plays two games inside 24 hours.

De Pere, ranked No. 1 in the FOX  11 Top 11, was scheduled to play at No. 5 Manitowoc on Thursday, but not anymore and is forced to go back-to-back. The Redbirds certainly would've liked another day to prepare for two of the area's best teams on the road, but now De Pere enters a two-day two-game period with no chance but being ready to play.

Coach Kelly McNiff said the best thing about this is De Pere is familiar with each team. The Ships are a conference team and No. 7 Algoma has been a regular on the schedule the last few seasons.

"We are prepared for Manitowoc," McNiff said. "Since we were supposed to play tonight I will probably watch them on tape one more time though.

"Since we are now playing back-to-back and lose a day of prep, I will be breaking down a lot of Algoma film. And since no school means no practice, no meetings, the girls get a day to relax."

The Manitowoc game is the first obstacle for the Redbirds, but the Algoma game can't be overlooked. De Pere is on a 26-game winning streak, dating back to last season and its last loss came to Algoma, 54-41, Dec. 19, 2011.

Algoma has actually won two straight against the Redbirds.

Algoma (4-0) also is going back-to-back on Friday and Saturday, having to play at Sevastopol on Friday in a Packerland game. However, the Pioneers are a 1-win team, not undefeated like Manitowoc.

Notable Friday Girls Games

• Oshkosh West (4-4, 4-2) at Appleton North (5-3, 4-2): Two contenders in the Fox Valley Association trail FVA leader Kimberly by two games, so loser could fall three games behind.
• No. 4 Kimberly (7-0, 6-0) at Oshkosh North (6-1, 6-1): Kimberly leads North by one game in the FVA, so a North win would tighten up the FVA.
• No. 11 Notre Dame (4-2) at Oconto Falls (3-1): Notre Dame has a stacked backcourt with Allie LeClaire, Brianna Byrne and Eliza Campbell, while Falls has McKenna Larsen.

Notable Friday Boys Games

• West De Pere (4-1, 3-0) at Hortonville (4-3, 3-1): Key game in the Bay as both teams try to keep up with conference leader Seymour.
• No. 11 Bay Port (5-2, 4-0) at Green Bay Southwest (4-2, 2-2): Pirates have a tough road test against a Trojans team looking to get going.
• No. 9 Kaukauna (5-2, 5-2) at Appleton West (6-3, 4-3): Kaukauna just fell out of a first-place tie after losing to FVA-leader Neenah, while West has slowed after a good start.

Follow Doug Ritchay on Twitter @dougritchay

doug.ritchay@wluk.com