Before he and his staff got into the specifics Kansas Wesleyan women's coach Ryan Showman knew his team will face a daunting opponent in the First Round of the NAIA National Championship.
MidAmerica Nazarene's reputation preceded their research.
"You always see the scores," Showman said in advance the game that begins at 6 p.m. Friday inside the Cook Center on the MNU campus in Olathe. "Being in Kansas the Heart of America (Conference) is in our backyard, they're in our rating arc so we pay attention to who they play. A lot of common opponents in that league with our (Kansas Conference) league."
Tickets for the event are $15 for general admission and can be purchased online at www.mnusports.com/tickets. Tickets will also be sold on-site at the Cook Center. For those unable to attend this weekend's games, a live video stream is available at www.heartconferencenetwork.com/mnu. There is a pay-per-view fee on the video stream of $15. Fans can also listen to the game in the Salina area on 910 AM KINA / 107.5 FM, and online at salinapost.com, with Tyler Henry and Russ Cossel on the call of the game. Pregame starts at 5:30 p.m.
MidAmerica enters the game ranked 10th in the final NAIA poll of the season with a 28-3 record. The Pioneers won the HAC title with a 24-0 record but lost to Benedictine 65-51 in the tournament championship. The defeat ended their 26-game winning streak.
"They're young, really young," Showman said. "They only have one or two seniors in their rotation which is a stark contrast from us but they're good. They play really hard. They're not flashy, they don't do a bunch of crazy things but they're just really good at what they do."
Wesleyan qualified for the NAIA tournament by winning the KCAC title with an 18-4 record. The Coyotes lost to Friends 68-66 in the semifinals of the conference tournament in Mabee Arena.
Friday will be their first trip to the national tournament since 2020. They walloped Mayville State (N.D.) 86-64 in Sioux City, Iowa in the First Round but their Second Round game against Concordia (Neb.) was abruptly cancelled along with the rest of the tournament because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Balance is the hallmark of MANU's offense with four starters having double-figure scoring averages. Sophomore center Kameron Green averages a team-high 13.5 points and 6.3 rebounds; Keona Schneck, a guard and graduate student, 13.4 points and 4.7 rebounds; junior guard Aubrey Rogers 11.8 points and 3.5 assists; and freshman forward Zaylee Werth, a Hillsboro native, 10.3 points and 6.7 rebounds. Freshman Grace Carlson is the point guard and averages 7.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists.
Rogers is the top 3-point shooter, 58 of 186. Schneck has 51 3-pointers and Mary Lukert, a sophomore guard, 41 off the bench.
Showman is particularly impressed with Schneck, a transfer from Illinois-Chicago.
"She looks the part," he said. "You can just tell at this level when someone transfers down from Division I. They just look different, they move different, they play different and she's definitely a difference maker, a big reason why they've had success."
Showman also likes Carlson who plays beyond her youth.
"She runs the show for them," he said. "From a facilitator standpoint she knows how to get her people open and what they're looking for offensively."
The Pioneers average 74.8 points and allow just 56.7 points. They're outrebounding the opposition by 7.3 per game.
"When you look at it it's just a really well put together team," Showman said. "We have to be prepared and focused and ready to play hard because we know we're going to get that on the other side."
In contrast Wesleyan has eight seniors/graduate students on its roster but has similar scoring balance. Point guard LaMyah Ricks averages 12.0 points, Angel Lee 11.8, Hampton Williams 10.0, Jill Stephens 9.7, Odessa Ozuna 8.6, Paige Chauncey 7.6 and Cat Bowman 6.5. Williams averages a team-best 7.6 rebounds.
The Coyotes average 75.4 points, allow 63.7 and have a 5.4 rebounding edge.
"They're a really tough disciplined team that does everything the right way, so we just have to get them out of their regular routine and get them unorganized," Ricks said of the Pioneers. "We have to move the ball side to side, play our game and not play their game. Just do what we've been doing all along."
"We have to help each other off defense and get the ball side to side on offense, those are our top two things that we always talk about," Lee said.