The Washington Demons boys’ and girls’ teams will begin conference play tonight, hosting the Keokuk Chiefs for a doubleheader on KCII.

Washington’s girls are 2-0 to start the season, and are fresh off a 41-33 win over Albia on Tuesday. The Demons’ will look to end their struggles from the field, where they’re shooting just 30.1% for the season. Adalyn Long, despite a slow start against Albia, continues to lead the team with 20 points per game. Leighton Messinger, who had a game-high 13 against the Lady Dees, is averaging 7 points for the season. Washington’s strengths have come from the team’s ability to crash the boards and play aggressive defense. Washington pulls down 36 rebounds per game and is forcing 13.5 turnovers per game as well.

Messinger joined KCII after Tuesday’s win over Albia. She says an advantage that the team has had this year is their ability to practice like they play. “We practice just like we’re going to play in games. We’re intentional, which is so important. And I think that everyone just focuses, and we all know our end goal. And when we’re starting our practices too, like, we talk about or competition that’s coming up, and we just focus on the next game.”

The Keokuk girls are 0-1 after starting their season with a 76-46 loss to Notre Dame Quincy. All but 1 point was scored by either senior Kendra Boatman, who led the Chiefs with 26, or junior Elizabeth Mason, who had 19. The other point was scored by sophomore Remira Snively on a free throw.

Keokuk has traditionally dominated this matchup, with the last Demon win coming back in 2014, a stretch of 11 years and 22 games. Washington will look to change that, but haven’t lost by single-digits since 2018. That was a 37-28 game, a 9-point margin of defeat.

After the girls, the Washington boys will take to the floor. The Demons are 1-0, and started their season with a 20-point win, 49-29, over Albia as well. Washington had three players finish with double-digit scoring including Rajan Roth with 16, and Drew Conrad and Nic Stone each with 12.

Keokuk will be playing their first game of the season tonight. Most discussion around the Chiefs centers on 6’10” center Jaxon Clark. Last season, Clark averaged 22.7 points per game and 14.4 rebounds per game on a Keokuk team that finished 17-8 for the season. Despite Clark’s return to Keokuk, the Chiefs will have to replace the rest of their lineup from last season, with 7 graduating seniors from last year.

Head coach Collin Stark spoke with KCII on Tuesday. He says Clark coming back to Keokuk makes them a much tougher team to play against. “That instantly makes them, you know, a lot better team. And that’s something we’re going to have to adjust for, kind of similar to today. We’ve got to have that help side, and be able to be there enough to be able to outjump him for that lob pass that I’m sure they’re going to try to utilize.”

Washington is 21-14 against Keokuk since 2007, but lost last year 71-35. The Demons have only lost to the Chiefs 3 times since 2020, but face a tough test ahead.

Tonight’s doubleheader will be broadcast live on FM106.1, the KCII1 app, and kciiradio.com. The Demon Pregame show will start at 5:30 p.m. The girls will tip off at 6, with the boys to follow.