Lady 'Cats looking for the upset tonight

The 'luck of the draw' was anything but lucky for the Dexter Lady Bearcats.

Dexter's semifinal opponent in the Show Me Show Down in Columbia will be Incarnate Word Academy, a team that many have already crowned as the Class 4 champions.

The Lady Bearcats (26-3) hope to prove them wrong when they tip it off with the Red Knights (29-0) at 6:50 tonight at the Mizzou Arena on the University of Missouri campus.

IWA and Dexter are the only two teams ranked in the last Missouri Basketball Coaches Association's (MBCA) Class 4 top ten poll to reach the final four. IWA was ranked No. 1 while Dexter was No. 5. All other ranked teams have been eliminated.

IWA took out three ranked teams on its way to the final four, IWA eliminated Miller Career Academy (86-62) in the district final, MICDS (61-36) in the sectional round and Kirksville (78-26) in the quarterfinals.

That is just part of the impressive resume the Red Knights bring to the game.

IWA, a private Catholic school for young women, has won two state titles in the past three years in Class 5, finishing third last season before dropping down to Class 4 this season.

The Red Knights also own wins over three of the four Class 5 teams to advance to the Show Me Showdown. IWA defeated Class 5 final four schools Rock Bridge (56-39), Cor Jesu Academy (80-34) and St. Joseph Academy twice (56-44 and 49-34).

St. Joseph Academy provided the toughest test for IWA, losing by 12 and 15 points. St. Joe Academy also provides a common opponent for Dexter and IWA. Dexter led St. Joseph Academy at the half and was tied heading into the fourth quarter before falling, 55-50, at a neutral site game in Charleston earlier this season.

The Red Knights leader on the court is sophomore Napheesa Collier, a 6-1 forward who averages 24.4 points and 11.7 rebounds per game. Collier shoots 69 percent from the floor and connects on 74 percent of her attempts from the free throw line.

Collier has been recuited by schools such as Stanford and UConn, two of the best women's programs in the country.

The closest the Red Knights came to losing a game this year was their season-opener vs. Hoover, AL., a game they won 59-56, at a neutral site in Murfeesboro, TN.