Here is the first Girls Hoop Week Guide. This is NOT a list of every game scheduled for this week, but just the ones that jumped out to me as being the most interesting.

PROGRAMMING NOTE: I'm going to hold off on the next series of rankings until just before Christmas, so the first Top 25 of the season will probably be released on Dec. 22 or 23.

Monday, Dec. 12
Hampshire at South Hadley - Raiders have a lot of potential, but replacing graduated point guard Margo McCarthy is a must if they are going to make another run to the Cage. Interesting, then, to see them start with a Tigers team with a solid backcourt. South Hadley will come into the game looking to bounce back from a disappointing performance against a very good Mahar team Friday.
Minnechaug at East Longmeadow - Minnechaug was overmatched against Northampton last week and things don't get any easier here as the Spartans have HIGH expectations.
Longmeadow at Northampton - A great early Division 1 game featuring two teams we should expect to be in contention for the next few years (minimum).
Belchertown at Granby - Belchertown takes on another strong D-3 program after a tough trip to Lee on Friday. Everyone I talked to in the preseason liked Granby to take a big step up this season.
Chicopee at Lee - Eileen Dooley with a nice season-opening performance against Belchertown Friday.
Holyoke Catholic at Gateway Regional - A pair of defending league champs. Catholic must figure out how to score after graduating much of its offense, while Gateway should be even better with returning group led by Brooke Fairman and Chelsea Merritt.
West Springfield at Ludlow - Terriers don't get a home game until after Christmas, but still likely to start 4-0 in that time.
Cathedral at Monson - Monson is one of those teams I'll be closely keeping an eye on early in the season to try to figure out where they fit in the rankings.
Palmer at Ware - Tough opener for both teams, but this one features a number of terrific talents. Ware won by three last year, but Palmer figured things out soon after.
Central at Holyoke - I keep hearing that Central will be much improved this year. Tough to know with this brutal early schedule.
Sci-Tech at Easthampton - Eagles got the first of what could be 20 or so double-doubles out of Elizabeth Whitney on the Cape Friday.
Athol at Greenfield - Our first look at a completely new (virtually) Red Raiders squad.
Taconic at Hoosac - Braves were right with Cathedral until the fourth quarter Saturday.

Tuesday, Dec. 13
Putnam at Smith Academy - One of Smith's two non-league games (along with Monson on Feb. 15). Alyssa Klepacki looks to get her senior season off to a big start.
Mount Anthony at Wahconah - MAU won at home last year. Can Wahconah return the favor?

Wednesday, Dec. 14
Mahar at Frontier - The Senators put together a terrific victory against South Hadley to open their season Friday. Now, Frontier hopes to show that it can hang with the best in the Franklin League despite such heavy losses to graduation.
Lee at Chicopee Comp - Lee's second game against a Chicopee team of the week and first time outside of its home gym. Would have been a more fun matchup last year.
Drury at Hoosac - Always a fun rivalry game. Drury won twice last year by an average of 5.5 points.
Monument at Brattleboro - Monument hammered Brattleboro last year. This year? I have no idea what to expect.

Thursday, Dec. 15
Belchertown at Monson - The Orioles got absolutely no breaks as they try to rebuild this season. It's a brutal start to the season.
Hampshire at Ware - A couple of terrifically athletic forwards in Sarah Kober (Hampshire) and Opaul Morris (Ware) will be battling on the boards in this one.
Holyoke Catholic at McCann - Could have a big impact down the road on the Bi-County West standings.
Palmer at Granby - Good backcourt matchup here, but you'd have to give the edge to Palmer in those pairings against virtually any non-Division 1 team.
Northampton at East Longmeadow - Another good early D-1 game here, as two of the best returning sophomore classes square off in what is quickly becoming a good rivalry.
Holyoke at Minnechaug - It's really hard to imagine any way the Falcons won't start at least 0-5. That's just a brutal schedule in what looks to me to be a deep Division 1 field this season. Holyoke, meanwhile, shoud be 3-0 with relative ease heading into the Dec. 19 matchup against Northampton.
West Side at Central - Probably West Side's toughest matchup in its first five games.
Cathedral at Sabis - Sabis' first home game of the season before its fabulous home tournament over the weekend.
Mohawk at Easthampton - Eagles could be looking at 3-0 with a win here.
Smith Academy at Pioneer Regional - Smith's league opener against a Panthers squad with just three players total back from last year. Falcons would love to be 2-0 heading into Monday's game against rival Hopkins.
Longmeadow at Pittsfield - Another very interesting Division 1 matchup, as Longmeadow has to take the trip west and square off against a Pittsfield team that was much better than the score indicated against Amherst on Friday.

Saturday, Dec. 17
Lee vs. Palmer (at Sabis) - The Gazette doesn't even cover these two teams and I'm still thinking about going.
Pittsfield vs. Leominster (at Fitchburg Tournament) - Pittsfield is really challenging itself with its non-league schedule this year. Always a good idea if you think you've got a team built for the tournament.
Notre Dame Academy at Sabis - Like Pittsfield, Sabis is really challenging itself with its non-league schedule.

Sunday, Dec. 18
Lee at Sabis; Palmer vs. Notre Dame Academy(at Sabis) - Two more terrific games. Girls hoop fans, spend some of your weekend at Sabis.