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Ronnie Ressel says his “kids will be ready” on Friday when they take on No. 5 seed Northwest Missouri State University women in the quarterfinals of the MIAA conference tournament at noon at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City.
Ressel’s Missouri Southern State University Lions are seeded fourth and were off the first two days of the tournament. They’ve also known their opponent all week and been able to prepare.
“Playing on Friday is nice. It’s nice to get that extra day of preparation and time to heal and rest. On the other hand, we have to win three games in a row in three straight days to win the tournament,” he said.
The only way around playing on three consecutive days is to earn the No. 1 or 2 seed and play on Thursday, get Friday off and then play Saturday and Sunday.
MSSU (19-9, 13-6 MIAA) is coming off two losses to end the regular season. It had a shot at the No. 3 seed down to the final day. It lost to Washburn University last Saturday while the two teams came in tied in the MIAA standings.
The week before that, the Lions had beaten top 10 nationally ranked Fort Hays State University at home and the University of Nebraska-Kearney. But four of the Lions’ losses came in their last six games.
“We had two good home wins but then we go on the road and face UCM and had a lull in the fourth quarter. Give Washburn credit, they controlled the game,” Ressel said.
One of the four losses in the past six games occurred on the Lions’ home floor against NWMSU (18-11, 11-8 MIAA) on Feb. 12. The Bearcats used their defense to limit the Lions and earn a narrow 65-60 win.
Ressel added that his team has been outrebounded as of late and that hasn’t been the norm for the Lions this season. They rank fifth in the MIAA in rebounds per game and had been higher prior to the last weekend of the regular season. The Bearcats outrebounded them 47-32 in the February meeting.
Right now, the Lions’ focus is on themselves, Ressel says, especially to refocus in the rebounding department. He added that he wants his team to be more efficient on offense.
They’ve spent the week going back over their offensive reads to try to understand where openings should be against the NWMSU defense.
Southern ranks second in scoring in the MIAA with 74 points per game. It is 11th on defense, allowing 68 ppg. Northwest is the third-best defense, holding opponents to 58.5 ppg. It comes in 11th on offense with just 62.5 ppg.
The Lions have Grace Frazier, Nariah Clay and Ashlyn Alloway averaging 13 ppg or more. Frazier ranks fourth in the league at 16.4, while Clay is 10th and Alloway 11th at 13.5 and 13.4, respectively.
The Bearcats’ top scorer is Bailey Birmingham at 12 ppg and ranking 18th among all MIAA scorers.
Looking back at last year’s MSSU team, it had an 18-13 overall record and 10-9 conference record entering this tournament. It earned the No. 9 seed and took down No. 8 NWMSU in the first round. It lost to No. 1 Pittsburg State University in the quarterfinals.
“The big difference this year is mindset. We feel like we’re playing good basketball for the most part,” Ressel said.
From last year’s team, only two players return who got experience in the game in Frazier and Makenna Yokley, both sophomores this season. Clay was redshirted last year and witnessed the event from the bench.
The coach said he’s excited to see how the newcomers react to the stage.
Continue reading...
Ressel’s Missouri Southern State University Lions are seeded fourth and were off the first two days of the tournament. They’ve also known their opponent all week and been able to prepare.
“Playing on Friday is nice. It’s nice to get that extra day of preparation and time to heal and rest. On the other hand, we have to win three games in a row in three straight days to win the tournament,” he said.
The only way around playing on three consecutive days is to earn the No. 1 or 2 seed and play on Thursday, get Friday off and then play Saturday and Sunday.
MSSU (19-9, 13-6 MIAA) is coming off two losses to end the regular season. It had a shot at the No. 3 seed down to the final day. It lost to Washburn University last Saturday while the two teams came in tied in the MIAA standings.
The week before that, the Lions had beaten top 10 nationally ranked Fort Hays State University at home and the University of Nebraska-Kearney. But four of the Lions’ losses came in their last six games.
“We had two good home wins but then we go on the road and face UCM and had a lull in the fourth quarter. Give Washburn credit, they controlled the game,” Ressel said.
One of the four losses in the past six games occurred on the Lions’ home floor against NWMSU (18-11, 11-8 MIAA) on Feb. 12. The Bearcats used their defense to limit the Lions and earn a narrow 65-60 win.
Ressel added that his team has been outrebounded as of late and that hasn’t been the norm for the Lions this season. They rank fifth in the MIAA in rebounds per game and had been higher prior to the last weekend of the regular season. The Bearcats outrebounded them 47-32 in the February meeting.
Right now, the Lions’ focus is on themselves, Ressel says, especially to refocus in the rebounding department. He added that he wants his team to be more efficient on offense.
They’ve spent the week going back over their offensive reads to try to understand where openings should be against the NWMSU defense.
Southern ranks second in scoring in the MIAA with 74 points per game. It is 11th on defense, allowing 68 ppg. Northwest is the third-best defense, holding opponents to 58.5 ppg. It comes in 11th on offense with just 62.5 ppg.
The Lions have Grace Frazier, Nariah Clay and Ashlyn Alloway averaging 13 ppg or more. Frazier ranks fourth in the league at 16.4, while Clay is 10th and Alloway 11th at 13.5 and 13.4, respectively.
The Bearcats’ top scorer is Bailey Birmingham at 12 ppg and ranking 18th among all MIAA scorers.
Looking back at last year’s MSSU team, it had an 18-13 overall record and 10-9 conference record entering this tournament. It earned the No. 9 seed and took down No. 8 NWMSU in the first round. It lost to No. 1 Pittsburg State University in the quarterfinals.
“The big difference this year is mindset. We feel like we’re playing good basketball for the most part,” Ressel said.
From last year’s team, only two players return who got experience in the game in Frazier and Makenna Yokley, both sophomores this season. Clay was redshirted last year and witnessed the event from the bench.
The coach said he’s excited to see how the newcomers react to the stage.
Continue reading...
