By By SCOTT NOVAK / Dowagiac Daily News
Just like last week, tonight's Wolverine Conference basketball game will be a showdown for first place.
A week ago, the Dowagiac varsity basketball team was playing to maintain its share of the league lead against Plainwell.
Tonight, the Chieftains will be looking to force a tie atop the conference standings with a win over visiting Otsego.
The Lady Bulldogs sit atop the Wolverine with a 13-3 record and an overall mark of 14-4.
Dowagiac and Gull Lake are tied for second place with 12-4 records. Dowagiac is 12-6 on the season.
The Chieftains have already locked up their first winning season since 1996, when they went 15-6.
In the first meeting between the two teams, Dowagiac dropped a 64-56 decision to Otsego.
Dowagiac comes into the contest as one of the area's top scoring teams.
The Chieftains are averaging 52.9 points per game, which is second only to Benton Harbor (60.5).
Junior point guard Katy Stuppy is the Chieftains' leading scorer as she is averaging 19.4 points per game.
Stuppy became the all-time leading scorer last Thursday in a loss to Gull Lake. Stuppy has now scored 1,013 points in her career.
Stuppy surpassed April Danzy (1996-98), who scored 1,001 points in her career.
Stuppy will be honored prior to tonight's game.
The freshmen team will get the tripleheader started at 4:15 p.m.