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Call it the rubber match.
				Even if that matchup has a chance to extend like a rubber band.
				It&rsquo;s Dallas against Hazleton Area, Round 3, in a playoff for the Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 girls basketball championship that will not only break a tie at the top of the standings, but could be a prelude to an overall league title game later this week.
				&ldquo;This is the Division 1 championship,&rdquo; Hazleton Area coach Joe Gavio said. &ldquo;It means something to both teams.&rdquo;
				Those teams, which finished 12-2 at the top of Division 1, will square off for a third time this season &mdash; their second meeting in a span of eight days &mdash; while trying to claim the Division 1 crown at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Holy Redeemer High School.
				And each has a point to prove.
				When Hazleton Area took a 39-9 halftime lead, Marissa Trivelpiece scored 15 points and the Cougars decimated Dallas, 54-37 in the first meeting between the teams on Jan. 13. But a tired Mountaineers team was playing its third game in four days, following two straight wins against high-quality opponents. The first went down to the final seconds against Wilkes-Barre Area and the second went to overtime against Berwick.
				&ldquo;The last time we played them, that&rsquo;s not us,&rdquo; Dallas scoring star Lauren Charlton said last week. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s not how we play.
				&ldquo;That loss stung a lot.&rdquo;
				In the rematch last Monday, Charlton swished five 3-point field goals and finished with 23 points, and Dallas essentially forced tonight&rsquo;s playoff with a 61-52 victory.
				&ldquo;We&rsquo;re excited to play them again,&rdquo; Hazleton Area point guard Brooke Boretski said. &ldquo;We want them bad. And it&rsquo;s always fun when we play them.&rdquo;
				The fun may be just starting.
				Both teams will head to the four-team WVC overall title tournament Thursday. The winner of tonight&rsquo;s game will face Division 2 runner-up Lake-Lehman in the league semifinal round and tonight&rsquo;s losing team will go up against Division 2 champion Holy Redeemer. Thursday&rsquo;s winners will then play Saturday for the overall WVC crown, so there&rsquo;s a real possibility Hazleton Area and Dallas could see each other for a fourth time this season and a third meeting in the span of 13 days in the league final.
				&ldquo;They are looking forward to the possibility of an overall league championship,&rdquo; Dallas coach Kelly Johnson said of her Mountaineers. &ldquo;But this (division title) is one obstacle we have to get over at this point. We&rsquo;ve played each other, and we split. Both teams are looking to exact some revenge and maybe prove who the better team is there.&rdquo;
				Both also have their eyes on a District 2 championship. Since divisional and league tournament playoff games don&rsquo;t count towards the District 2 power rankings, Hazleton Area is locked into the top seed for the district&rsquo;s Class 6A tournament at 18-3 overall and 19-3 Dallas will be the No. 2 seed in Class 4A.
				But before that, there&rsquo;s this.
				&ldquo;This isn&rsquo;t a high-pressure game where if you lose, your season&rsquo;s over,&rdquo; Gavio said. &ldquo;This is where you play your hearts out. Get excited. Have fun. Get your friends and family there and enjoy the moment. Everybody tries to get to a game that really means something. And this does.
				&ldquo;When you&rsquo;re playing for a championship, it&rsquo;s big.&rdquo;

Title on the line for Dallas and Hazleton Area girls basketball teams