Just over a week into the 2024-25 season, William Woods University men's and women's basketball already have some exciting matchups this weekend, with each team facing two future conference opponents in the Remy Williams Memorial Invitational, hosted by Park University Friday and Saturday at Breckon Sports Center in Parkville.

Owls men's basketball (1-0) faces Benedictine College (0-1) at 3 p.m. Friday and Park (0-0) at 6 p.m. Saturday. WWU women's basketball (0-0) plays MidAmerica Nazarene University (0-0) at 1 p.m. Friday and Park (0-0) at 4 p.m. Saturday. The Owls' games against the Pirates are not only future Heart of America Athletic Conference matchups but also contests between two teams that were previously American Midwest Conference foes.

The Remy Williams Memorial Invitational is named after Pembroke Hill School and Georgetown College alum Remington "Remy" Williams, known for his smile, wit, generosity, good humor, and, most importantly, his other-centeredness. 

While a middle school and high school student, Williams volunteered annually at the NAIA Men's Basketball National Championship Tournament in downtown Kansas City. Over the years, he developed a relationship with the Georgetown basketball program, sitting on the bench for its championship run in 2013. 

After graduating from Pembroke Hill, Williams followed his heart to Kentucky, where he served as his fraternity president and student body president, was chosen to be the graduation speaker for his class and managed the Tiger men's basketball team. Williams and the Tigers won the national championship again in 2019. 

Following his undergraduate graduation, Williams began his master's and doctorate work in law at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. He served as a distinguished University of Missouri Board of Curators member.

June 2022, Williams had made a late-night dinner run, taking a break from studying for his bar exam; Williams was tragically killed in a car accident in which a drunk driver ran a light at high speed.

Williams was known for his big heart - one such story was how, as a youth, Williams befriended a homeless man, Sonny, at a church outreach event. With Williams' help, Sonny was able to get back on his feet, and the two remained friends with each other for many years. As a Pembroke Hill student, Williams went on a January term service trip to Guatemala, where he worked to dig latrines in a remote mountain community near Chimaltenango. This experience touched Williams' heart so much that he doubled down on his Spanish curriculum and went back to Guatemala several times on his own to serve the same community year after year.

The Remington Williams Legacy Foundation fully funds three scholarships for students. Local Kansas City outreach includes purchasing, wrapping and distributing 100 Christmas gifts to the KC homeless population. Partnering with The Salvation Army/Honk and Holler food truck and personally delivering each present - on track for 100 gifts this year.

Men's Basketball

William Woods returns 13 players from its 2023-24 team that finished with an overall record of 12-16 and placed fourth in the AMC with a mark of 9-13. WWU's top returner from a year ago is Francis Okwuosah. He was named AMC Newcomer of the Year and first-team All-AMC in 2023-24, leading the team in minutes (641) and field goal percentage (56.9 percent).

WWU has six newcomers on its varsity roster for 2024-25, all transfers: Sophomore Ahlante Askew (Republic, Mo./John Brown University), senior D'Mari Wiltz (New Orleans, La./Missouri Baptist University), senior Kevin Taylor (Acworth, Ga./Emory & Henry College), junior Jacob LaBounty (Eugene, Ore./Lane Community College), senior Michael Noulowe (Darnestown, Md./Fort Valley State University) and senior Cooper Smith (Anacoco, La./Avila University).

In 28 games last season, the Owls averaged 81 points, 41.6 rebounds and 13.7 assists per game. William Woods shot 47.8 percent from the floor, 34.5 percent from behind the 3-point line and 69 percent from the free-throw line.

William Woods ended the 2023-24 season, allowing 65.1 points per game, having a 12.6 rebounding margin, holding opponents to 28.2 (20.2 defensive) total rebounds per game and having a 38.9 field goal percentage.

The William Woods University men's basketball team was selected to finish third in the 2024-25 AMC Coaches Poll. The Owls received 65 points, including one first-place vote.

Along with Okwuosah, Henry Shannon III is another standout returner for the Owls, making first-team All-AMC last season. As a sophomore, he played 25 games (23 starts) in 2023-24. Shannon averaged 11.4 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 0.8 steals per game. Additionally, he led WWU in points (285), rebounds (178) and steals (21) a season ago. 

Rounding out the Owls' trio of All-AMC selections is three-time All-AMC honoree Nathan Schwartze, who scored his 1,000th career point in their season-opening 84-70 victory at Friends University last Friday. And he holds WWU's single-game 3-pointers made record with eight.

Friday will be the first-ever meeting between William Woods and Benedictine. Located in Atchison, Kan., Benedictine is a private liberal arts college with a Catholic (Benedictines) affiliation that was established in 1971 by the merger of St. Benedict's College (founded 1858) for men and Mount St. Scholastica College (founded 1923) for women. It is located on the bluffs overlooking the Missouri River northwest of Kansas City.

Benedictine finished the 2023-24 season with an overall record of 9-18, and it went 8-16 in the Heart to finish 10th out of 13 teams - two places, three wins short of qualifying for the Heart Tournament. 

Last season, the Ravens scored 64.8 points and allowed 69.9 points per game. Benedictine ranked third in the NAIA in opponents' steals per game (three), fifth in turnovers per game (seven), seventh in 3-point attempts per game (36), 26th in offensive efficiency (1.055) and 31st in personal fouls per game (15). 

The Ravens' standout returners are Brycen LaRue with 12.1 points per game and Preston Reynolds with 7.2 rebounds and 1.9 steals in a team-high 30.8 minutes per game last season. Benedictine has six freshmen on its roster: Guards Harrison King (Olathe, Kan./Olathe West), Calvin Blue (Carrolton, Texas/Newman Smith), James Stokman (Crosby, Minn./Crosby-Ironton) and Deaglan Sullivan (South Bend, Ind./Marion), and forwards Gabe Sydzyik (Lenexa, Kan./St. James Academy) and Drew Purdy (Olathe, Kan./Olathe East).

Ryan Moody, a native of Omaha, Neb.,  is in his 14th season as Ravens coach, and he owns an overall record of 238-160 and has won the Heart two times (2013-14 and 2018-19). 

Saturday's game between William Woods and Park is the 21st meeting between the two teams. William Woods trails in the series, 8-13, though it won the most recent game against PU. That game was at Anderson Arena, and WWU split its two most recent matchups at Breckon Sports Center, with the Pirates winning the last one. The last time either team won more back-to-back games in the series was 2017-18 when the Owls swept the AMC season series. That season, William Woods won 71-50 at Park and 58-51 in Fulton. That will be the first - and likely only time for a while at least - that the Owls and Pirates tipoff in a nonconference matchup, with their most recent contest being the last campaign with both in the AMC, 2019-20, when WWU beat Park 67-61 Feb. 18, 2020, in Fulton. The first meeting between the two teams happened on Jan. 21, 2010, in Parkville. The Pirates won the game, 89-66.

Park went 13-16 overall and 11-13 in the Heart a season ago, and it just made the cut for the conference tournament by finishing eighth. The Pirates lost 87-85 at No. 2 seed Baker University in the Heart Tournament quarterfinals.

In 2023-24, the Pirates scored 77 points and allowed 77.9 points per game. Park ranked 17th in the NAIA in steals per game (9.1), 31st in opponents' turnovers per game (15.1), 51st in field goal attempts per game (64.8), 56th in opponents' personal fouls per game (17.7) and 65th in offensive rebounds per game (10.8).

Although it graduated its leading scorer/assister from a season ago, Park brings back its top rebounder, Christian Bradford (7.8 rebounds per game).

Jason Kline, Park's all-time wins leader, heads into his 20th season as coach and has gone 318-228 in his first 19 years in charge of the Pirates. He played college hoops for four seasons at Indiana Institute of Technology in Fort Wayne, Ind., landed his first head-coaching gig - his only one before Park - in 1998, and stayed there until 2005.

Women's Basketball

William Woods returns eight players from its 2023-24 team that finished with an overall record of 13-15 and placed seventh in the AMC with a mark of 7-11. WWU's top returner from a year ago is Sydney Booker. She was a second-team All-AMC selection in 2023-24, leading the Owls in points (344), rebounds (236), minutes (887), field goals made (133) and blocks (31).

WWU has five newcomers on its varsity roster for 2024-25, one freshman and four transfers. Freshman: Brooklyn Dougherty (Clark, Mo./Sturgeon). Transfers: Junior Kaedence Gipson (Louisville, Ky./Olney Central College), sophomore Noku Mundoringisa (Frisco, Texas/Southwestern Assemblies of God University), junior Mackenzie Mann (Oak Grove, Mo./Missouri Valley College) and junior Layla Young (San Angelo, Texas/Edmonds College).

In 28 games last season, the Owls averaged 62.8 points, 40.6 rebounds and 10 assists per game. William Woods shot 37.3 percent from the field, 26.7 percent from deep and 73 percent at the charity stripe.

William Woods ended the 2023-24 season ranked 21st in the NAIA in defensive rebounds per game (29.7), 27th in opponents' assists per game (10.5), 39th in opponents' field goal percentage (36.8 percent), 46th in blocks per game (3.4) and 51st in free throw percentage (73 percent).

The William Woods University women's basketball team was selected to tie for fifth in the 2024-25 AMC Coaches Poll. The Owls received 70 points.

In addition to Booker, Jersee Wren is WWU's top returner, earning honorable mention All-AMC. As a sophomore, she started 27 games and averaged 7.4 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 0.7 steals per game.

Friday is the fourth meeting between William Woods and MidAmerica Nazarene. William Woods leads the series 2-1. In their most recent matchup, the Owls fell 84-78 in double overtime to the Pioneers on Dec. 17, 2011, in Olathe, Kan. The first meeting between the two teams happened on Dec. 2, 1978, in Fulton. The Owls won the game 101-46.

A season ago, MidAmerica Nazarene went 19-11 overall and 17-7 in the Heart, and the Pioneers placed third out of 13 teams. MNU beat No. 6 seed Missouri Valley 83-78 in the Herat Tournament quarterfinals in Olathe, Kan., before falling 80-43 to No. 2 seed Grand View University in the semifinals in Des Moines, Iowa. 

MidAmerica Nazarene scored 70.1 points and gave up 64.8 points per game last season. The Pioneers ranked 40th in the NAIA in 3-point attempts per game (24.5), 44th in defensive rebounds per game (28.4), 50th in assists per game (15.3), 52nd in 3-point total attempts (221-736) and 54th in 3-pointers made per game (7.4) and free throw percentage (72.9). 

This season, the Pioneers return their leading scorer/rebounder from last year, Kameron Green (11.7 points and six rebounds per game). MNU brought in four freshmen: Forward Zaylee Werth (Hillsboro, Kan./Hillsboro), guards Kyrstyn Walker (St. Louis, Mo./Cardinal Ritter), Bodie Cox (Lebanon, Mo./Lebanon) and Grace Carlson (Cedar Springs, Mich./Cedar Springs).

Jon Lewis enters his 13th season as MidAmerica Nazarene coach, and he's transformed the Pioneers into a nationally ranked powerhouse. In just 12 years at the helm, Lewis has won four Heart championships, four conference tournament championships and has 12 national tournament appearances. The Pioneers won the NAIA national championship in 2016, the program's first national title.

Saturday is the 44th meeting between William Woods and Park. The Owls handily control the series 40-3. In their most recent game, the last-ever AMC matchup between the teams, WWU beat the Pirates 89-56 in Fulton. That was William Woods' 15 straight win in the series, starting the streak with a 71-64 victory over Park on Feb. 8, 2014, in Fulton. The first meeting between the two teams happened on Jan. 19, 1993, in Fulton. The Owls won the contest 79-67.

In 2023-24, Park went 11-17 overall and 8-16 in the Heart, and the Pirates placed 11th in the Heart, three spots away from a Heart Tournament berth. 

Park tallied 61.6 points and allowed 66.4 points per game last season. The Pirates ranked 30th in the NAIA in opponents' personal fouls per game (18.8), 42nd in offensive rebounds per game (13.9), 48th in free throw attempts per game (20.1), 52nd in opponents' turnovers per game (18.2) and 59th in opponents' blocks per game (2.3).

Going into this season, Park returns its leading scorer, Emma Perry (12.8 points per game), and rebounder, Makayla Artis (9.2 rebounds per game).

Norman Kenneth Cooper Jr. is in his 14th season as Pirates coach - his first and only college head coaching job - and he's the program's all-time winningest coach with a 136-215 record. He's coached three NAIA All-Americans through his first 13 seasons.

Fan Guide

Venue: Breckon Sports Center - 8700 NW River Park Dr., Parkville, MO 64152

Tickets: Enter through the main doors at Breckon Sports Center to visit the ticket table in the front lobby. Park's customer service representatives will be available to assist you with purchasing your ticket (cash only at the gate), get you a game program and direct you to your seat through the west doors. Our concession stand is available through the east doors, followed by an immediate right through the dome. For those needing an elevator and assistance to their seat, please ask an event staff worker for assistance.

Sock it to Poverty: On Saturday, fans can get in free to the games by donating a package of socks.

Visitor's Guide (Page 7-8 has lodging and restaurant information)

Tournament Page (Live stats and watch link included)

Live Stream