By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
Northwest Missouri State and Missouri Western are set to do battle on the basketball court again this Saturday in a couple of high stakes MIAA contests.
All four teams, men's and women's, have double digit wins and palpable momentum early in 2024.
On the women’s side, Northwest sits at 12-2 overall - their best start since 2010-11. Their 6-2 conference record has the Bearcats tied for first in the MIAA standings.
Northwest has won four straight, coming off last Saturday's 63-42 win at Rogers State. Northwest head coach Austin Meyer says his team has found a way to win led by a core of experienced players.
"Just experience and the kids playing together for multiple years," Meyer told KFEQ Radio. "We try to get a little bit better each day and I feel like our kids buy into that. We're in a good spot right now, but they don't give you midyear awards. So, we've got a long road ahead."
One of Northwest’s returners this season is St. Joseph native and sophomore Ella Moody. Moody started 12 games as a freshman last season, and has scored 37 points to go with 18 rebounds for the Bearcats this season in 11 appearances.
A St. Joseph Central graduate, Moody cherishes the opportunity to play in her home city once again.
"I like playing at home," Moody said, "because everyone gets to come. All of my friends and family get to come and watch. Missouri Western is a really great team and it'll be a really competitive game. It'll be close, which is a great game to watch. I'm excited to have everyone there and have the support."
The Bearcat women have found themselves in a lot of close games in recent years. Last season, Northwest went 15-15 - eight of those losses were by 10 points or fewer.
Seven of Northwest's 12 victories so far this season have come in games decided by 10 points or less.
"We've had a lot of close games we've been on the losing end of," Meyer said, "and we've been able to win a lot of close games this year."
One of the biggest keys in this turnaround for Northwest is continuity. The Bearcats had 13 freshmen at the start of the 2021-22 season. Eleven true freshmen and two redshirt freshmen.
Of those 13 players in that class, 11 of them are still on the team. Six of them are fourth-year players. Three of them are in their fifth season.
Experience and a more up-tempo offense, Meyer says, have both been key. Helping to lead this offensive upswing is first-year assistant coach Chris Guess, who had spent the last 32 years as a decorated high school coach in Iowa.
"We're playing a little faster," he said. "We've played pretty slow in the past. It wasn't that we didn't say, 'Push the ball.' We had to limit possessions. We had to slow the game down. Whereas, we're playing at a faster rate. More possessions. I think our kids play more freely and play with more confidence, and I think that's been a big part of it."
The Missouri Western women's basketball team, meanwhile, is looking to get things back on track. The Griffon women are 10-4, coming off of a 74-58 loss at Northeastern State, which snapped a five-game winning streak.
Missouri Western coach Candi Whitaker says it's up to her senior leaders to determine what kind of season they want to have as they enter the back half of the 2023-24 slate.
"It's their career, their season," Whitaker said. "We're going to stay consistent in our expectations and continue to coach effort and discipline every single day, which is where we're at."
At 5-3 in the MIAA, Missouri Western is only a game out of first place.
The Missouri Western women have won three straight against the Bearcats and seven of the last 10 overall.
Austin Meyer interview
Ella Moody interview
Northwest, MWSU men match up with identical records Saturday
The Northwest Missouri State men are ranked No. 14 in the coaches' poll this week, sitting at 11-3 overall and on a six-game winning streak. Their 7-1 record in the MIAA is good for first place in the league.
They rank second in the league in scoring defense, allowing only 60.6 points per game. They also shoot at 50.1% clip from the field - good for second in the league as well.
Northwest head coach Ben McCollum says he's been impressed by Missouri Western - a team that's also 11-3 and winners of three straight.
The Griffons are second in the league, averaging 37.4 rebounds per game while putting up a strong 77.9 points per contest.
"I think Western is one of the better teams in the league," McCollum said. "They score at a high rate. Defensively, they're able to guard you and rebound. They do everything well. Just like any team in the MIAA, it's going to be one of those games. They'll be excited to play. We'll be excited to play. We try to always be."
Northwest has won each of the last 24 meetings against the MWSU men, including the last 10 in St. Joseph. Griffons’ head coach Will Martin admits the Griffons have to start pulling their weight in this rivalry.
"We have to do our part in the rivalry and start winning some of those matchups," Martin said. "But, I know our community will get out. I know Looney will be lit. We're going to need every ounce of their energy and support in that game."
Northwest Missouri State and Missouri Western are travel partners. That means they share the same conference opponents every week in the regular season. So, the Bearcats and Griffons, by default, see each other a lot on film.
Martin says he and McCollum are, by now, very familiar with what the other team does and is capable of.
"We probably watch each other, me and Ben, more than any other team," Martin said. "You're watching a lot of their games to prep. We feel like we know them pretty well. They know us. They're a really good team. Well coached. What Ben McCollum has done there speaks for itself."
Tip-off in Saturday's men's game is set for 3:30 p.m. The women lead things off at 1:30.
Both games can be heard across the entire region on KFEQ Radio (680 AM, 95.3 FM, 680kfeq.com, KFEQ app).
Northwest and Western will play again in Maryville on February 24.
You can follow Tommy on Twitter @TommyKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.