MELLETTE – They have yet to lose to a Class B foe this season and have a top-10 seed point total in the state. Yet, the Northwestern Wildcats have not garnered so much as one vote all season in the Prep Media Poll.

“We like it that way,” said Northwestern coach Jason Sparling. “We really do.”

The Wildcats, 7-2 on the season, have just one senior on the squad, Adriana Ratigan. However, there is no lack of leadership. Among the starters on the team are all-state volleyball player Ashley Haven, and state cross country and track and field champion Ella Boekelheide.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to be around that junior class since they were in fourth grade,” Sparling said.

He was watched the players grow in their skills and also basketball IQ.

“It’s neat to see ‘em finally getting bigger, stronger, faster,” Sparling said. “We’ve been so young for so long.”

The Northwestern players all share one common trait: they love to compete.

Sparling said because most of his players don’t play year around, they have a hunger when they show up for basketball.

“I love when they show up to basketball practice, because it’s a different season. It’s a good change,” Sparling said. “They’re just so excited to play. They want to compete. They’re all competitors. A lot of our practices, they go after each other pretty hard.”

A key so far this season has been solid team defense. The Wildcats have allowed more than 42 points just one time in nine games.

“You can’t control some of the nights if the ball goes in the basket. … We’re playing good man-to-man defense this year and we haven’t traditionally in the past,” Sparling said. “Again, back to bigger, stronger, faster. The kids are mature. We can play man-to-man and do a good job of it, and our help D is really, really good. We switch on about everything.”

Sparling has implemented a point system this year which keeps track of productivity on the court. On the plus side are points, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals, on the negative are turnovers, and missed shots.

“That comes up with a point system on how productive a player you are on the court. … We actually look at that every game,” Sparling said.

Northwestern’s two losses on the season came to Class A regional powers Aberdeen Roncalli and Groton. Despite the losses, the Wildcats gained confidence from those contests.

“What’s so fun about those two games, is that we were in those games,” Sparling said. “We aren’t getting killed by 25 or 30. … It comes to the end, we can compete with those teams, and then next year we’re going to be bigger, stronger, faster again.”

Before then, there is this matter of getting to the State B Tournament. The last time the Wildcats played in the state tourney was 2005. They were one game away last season.

Northwestern lost to Harding County in the SoDak 16, a contest in which the Wildcats were missing two starters, one because of injury and one because of illness.

“What’s neat is that every single girl got in that game to experience it last year,” Sparling said.

The Wildcats are definitely not resting on their laurels after a solid start to the season. They know there is plenty of work yet to be done.

“We still have to keep consistently getter better. … We can beat any team and we can lose to any team if we’re not focused,” Sparling said. “We have to be ready and keep the girls prepared.”

Sparling is doing his part, traveling to watch nearly every foe in person before upcoming games.

While the Wildcats definitely have some goals in mind for the remainder of the season, Sparling said the team is focused more on the present than it is on the future.

“It’s a process. We have some fun expectations, but we’ll see how it goes,” Sparling said. “We have to take one game at a time before we think about that too hard.”