As we near the start of postseason play, the St. Edmond basketball teams will pack four games into the coming week.

The hectic schedule begins Monday with home doubleheader vs. Eagle Grove. From there, the Gaels hit the road to face Iowa Falls-Alden on Tuesday. They return home for a twinbill on Thursday vs. Pocahontas Area and Friday vs. Algona.

Start time is 6:15 p.m. on all four nights.

For the Gael girls (3-11 overall, 3-7 in North Central Conference), they will be looking to snap a two-game losing skid after dropping games to Clear Lake and West Bend-Mallard last week after topping Webster City.

Freshman Chloe Palmer leads the team at 8.4 points per game followed by junior Josie Harvey and sophomore Anna Lursen. Lursen is also the team leader in rebounds at eight a night and assists.

Eagle Grove (0-16) is a senior-led unit with 12th-graders Nadia Kaiser, Chloe Steil and Maddison Kaiser the leading scorers. They have won the last two meetings and three of the last four overall in the series.

Iowa Falls-Alden (8-9, 6-5) features Ella Sharar, the sister of current University of Iowa football player Karson Sharar, who averages 19 points and 10 rebounds a night. The Cadets posted a 45-38 victory over St. Edmond and have won the past 14 games.

Pocahontas Area (9-6) qualified for state last year and features a mostly new unit of players led by Madison Vial and Jenna Vonnahme. Vial averages 13.6 points per game with Vonnahme adding 11 points and 11 rebounds a night.

Algona (13-4, 10-1) is the current leader in the NCC, sitting a game ahead of Humboldt and two clear of Clear Lake. The Bulldogs, who scored a 70-37 win over the Gaels earlier this year, have three players averaging 10-plus points: Lauren McLaughlin, Hayden Kuhlmann and Hayden McLaughlin.

After putting together a three-game winning streak, the Gael boys (7-8, 4-6) have dropped three of their last four. Sophomore Hunter Horn averages a double-double at 20.4 points and 11 rebounds a night with Sam Mericle adding 12.5 points and Jack McElroy 8.6 and almost five rebounds.

The Eagles (8-7) are led by recent 1,000-point career scorer Drake Canavan, who committed to Cornell College. He averages 18.5 points per game with Tyreon Franklin adding 18 points a night and Jaxon Morris 12.5.

The Cadets (5-10, 3-6) earned a 58-54 victory over St. Edmond earlier this year. Senior Jaden Damiano, who will compete at the University of South Dakota in track next year, averages 11 points a game with Kale Kalous and Carter Weaver adding 10.

The Indians (2-12) are paced by Ethan Behrens, as the senior posts 16.2 points a night. They have gone 2-3 over their last five games.

The Bulldogs (9-4, 5-4) were state qualifiers a season ago with Ben Helmers, Alex Manske and Landon Welp among those back. Helmers, a junior, averages almost 21 points a night with Manske, also a junior and one of the top football recruits in the state, adding 14.5 points and six rebounds.