Life is good these days for the Washington Demon girls’ basketball team, and they’ll hope to keep the good times rolling when they host Mount Pleasant in a conference showdown you can hear tonight on KCII. Washington is off to a 4-1 start to the season for the first time since 2011. The Demons are getting excellent production in the post from senior forward Alex Murphy, who is averaging better than 12 points and 10 rebounds per game. Freshman Adalyn Long is also lighting up opponents by leading Washington in three-point shooting and averaging over 11 points a game. Mix in freshman Leighton Messinger’s scoring and a ferocious full-court press on defense, and Demons head coach Shannon Rugg tells KCII Sports you have a recipe for success.

“Our kids are playing extremely hard,” Rugg says. “[They are] starting to understand a little more and more each time. The two kind of go hand-in-hand. Our pressure puts a lot of pressure on [the opponent] to handle the ball, and then us taking advantage of maybe not some great ball handlers. So I would say we’re about where we thought we would be or hoped to be right now.”

If Washington look to remain unbeaten in the Southeast Conference, they will need to get around 2-5 Mount Pleasant and their senior star Andrea Lopreato, who is putting up more than 20 points and 14 rebounds per contest. The Demons have dropped four straight against the Panthers. Washington looks to muscle past Mount Pleasant and keep their strong start to the season going, and you can hear it on 106.1 FM KCII. Coverage begins with the Washington Hy-Vee Pregame Show at 7 this evening.