Box Score IOLA, Kansas — Two nationally ranked teams clash at 12:00pm. Friday in the opening round of the Allen County Community College Classic in the Red Devil's Field House.
Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College's Lady Norse are currently ranked No. 10 in the NJCAA Women's Division I preseason poll.
The Lady Norse opened the regular season Wednesday with a 63-56 victory over Coffeyville (Kansas) Community College in the NEO Field House.
Opposing the Lady Norse in the first game of the two-day classic will be the Highland (Kansas) Community College Scotties.
Under the direction of former Lady Norse head coach B.J. Smith, the Scotties are currently rated No. 2 in the NJCAA Women's Division II preseason poll. The Scotties opened the season Tuesday with a 126-49 rout over William Penn junior varsity in Highland's Ben Allen Field House.
During his three-year stint at head coach at NEO from 1999 to 2002, Smith won more than 30 games every season and finished with a 96-5 overall record. The Lady Norse won three consecutive conference championships.
Smith's final season 2001-02, the Lady Norse finished the regular season undefeated and won the Region II Tournament. NEO finished second in the NJCAA Women's Division I National Tournament with a 35-1 overall record.
Following his tenure as NEO, Smith served four years as head coach at NCAA Division I Southeast Missouri State University before joining the Highlands program.
"This is going to be a really big weekend for our program," Rowland said. "Highland has a talented program and coach Smith and his staff do a good job of preparation.
"They're going to press us and run and jump us to death," Rowland said. "They're really going to defend hard and use the fast break to create easy baskets.
"We're going to have to really, really move the basketball and try to get them in foul trouble," Rowland said. "We're bigger than they are, so we want to pound the ball inside and use the size advantage."
The Lady Norse face the host Red Devils at 5 p.m. Saturday to conclude the classic.