St. Mary will take on host St. Francis in the second game of the Gladiators' Katie Heinz "We Believe" girls' basketball tournament  Wednesday night, Dec. 26.

Joining St. Francis and St. Mary in the annual four-team Christmas tournament are Traverse City Christian and Reed City. The tournament was named in honor of a former top St. Francis student-athlete who died in 2004.

T-C Christian will play Reed City in the first game of the evening on Wednesday at 6 p.m., with the St. Mary-St. Francis game to follow. The varsity consolation game will be played Thursday, Dec. 27 at 6 p.m., with the championship game starting around 7:30 p.m.

Eagles’ coach Paula Korson said the team planned to watch St. Francis play last night. She wasn’t sure what to expect from a Gladiator team that has had some ups and downs.

“I know they lost to Elk Rapids last week, and we beat Elk Rapids the week before that. I think this will be an excellent matchup for us,” she said.

While St. Mary has already beaten T-C Christian once this season, Korson said she is more anxious about Reed City.

“They beat McBain by five points last week. They are one of those powerhouse teams you have to look out for,” she said. The Eagles won’t get a chance to see the Coyotes play until the first game of the tournament.

“We have some tough teams to face next week, but if we play like we can, I like our chances for winning,” Korson said.