I wasn't lucky enough to see the Messalonskee-Brewer triple overtime game Friday night, but as usual, there are plenty more matchups to look forward to in the last week before the Christmas break. The big one -- and indeed, it's one of the best of the season -- is at Morse High School on Friday night.

MONDAY

Monmouth at Mt. Abram: These teams split their regular season meetings last winter before Mt. Abram won in the Western C quarterfinals. Monmouth has gotten off to a 3-0 start by allowing just over 30 points per game. Offensively, Jenn Lola has scored over 40 percent of the Mustangs points. This will be a test for the Mustangs, as Mt. Abram's "Runnerdome" can be tough on road teams. Of course, it wasn't on Thursday night for Telstar, and this is Mt. Abram's first game since that 60-27 loss to the Rebels. How the Roadrunners bounce back from that will be a big factor in seeing what they can do this season.

TUESDAY

Forest Hills at Valley: This could be a fun game to watch, as the Tigers have more experience, but Valley has more depth and some exciting youngsters. This is a road game for the Tigers, which means they'll have just six players. Forest Hills was 2-0 entering the weekend, and had the odd quirk of playing twice in 24 hours and then having six days off. Valley was 2-2 after ending up 4-14 last season, and hung with Richmond and Buckfield for a half before those teams pulled away after the break.

Winslow at Erskine: While neither of these teams are considered to be at Waterville's level in Class B, both will be undefeated entering this game. Erskine is giving up just 38 points per game, and Winslow is even stingier: The Black Raiders are giving up 28 points per night. So this should be a hard-fought game with lots of defense, and it very likely could go down to the final seconds. One thing worth noting: If the Eagles win this game, they will be 4-0, surpasssing their win total for all of last season, when they competed in Class A.

Richmond at Buckfield: This season, Buckfield is considered THE team in Western D. The Bucks were undefeated against Class D opponents in the regular season last winter, and have nearly everyone back from that team. Buckfield started off the season with some convincing wins, and appears determined to reverse its trend of playoff disappointments in this decade. Richmond may just be the second-best team in Western D, and it will be interesting to see how the Bobcats fare against Buckfield. One place where Buckfield has a clear edge is depth. In Richmond's 68-48 victory over Valley on Tuesday, three players -- Steph O'Brien, Amy Russell and Melanie Schnack -- combined for 65 of those points.

THURSDAY

Mt. Abram at Winthrop: The Roadrunners meet another team they knocked out of the playoffs during their state championship run last season, as they face the Winthrop team they defeated in the Western C final. Neither team is off to a great start, as both have alternated good and bad games. Still, both of these teams could be tough matchups by the end of the season, and if the Winthrop fans come out, it will be a great basketball atmosphere.

Waterville at Winslow: As mentioned above, Winslow isn't considered to be at Waterville's level. But in the KVAC, nobody is. If Winslow defeats Erskine on Tuesday, Winslow will be 3-0 and Waterville will most likely be undefeated as well. It's already a rivalry game, and Waterville won't have many chances to get pumped up like the Purple Panthers will be for this game.

FRIDAY

Lawrence at Morse: This will be one of the most anticipated matchups of the winter, especially if Lawrence can enter this game undefeated. These two teams may just be the teams to beat in the KVAC North (Lawrence) and South (Morse, although Cony will certainly provide an argument to that before all the snow is melted). Through two games, Lawrence was rolling, as Brogan Liberty averaged 23.5 points with Megan Gilbert and Alexa Bernatchez also well into double figures. Morse returns four starters from a team that finished 15-5 last season, including guard Jill Henrikson, who averaged 18.4 points, 4.2 assists and 4.2 steals per game last winter. Henrikson passed 1,000 career points in her junior year and is headed to Bowdoin next season. Lawrence and Cony don't meet during the regular season, so the Lawrence-Morse and Cony-Morse games are the marquee matchups this season in Eastern A.