Sadie Maas took her game to a new level during her sophomore season, and the MIAA took notice.
The sophomore forward was named MIAA Defensive Player of the Year Tuesday afternoon.
Maas and freshman Bailey Birmingham garnered all-league recognition from a 2025-26 campaign that netted the Bearcats the five-seed in the upcoming conference tournament. Birmingham was named All-MIAA Honorable Mention.
Maas capped the regular season ranked second in the conference with 72 blocked shots, also the second-highest single-season total in Bearcat program history. The Waukee, IA native is already third on the career blocks list with 120, chasing only Jayna Green's mark of 195. Maas is also sixth in the MIAA with 8.3 rebounds per game.
Her game reached new heights as the conference season hit. Through the course of the full 29-game regular season, Maas averaged 7.4 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.5 blocks and 1.0 steals per game. During the MIAA slate, all of those numbers jumped — an average of 9.1 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.8 blocks and 1.1 steals per contest. She recorded three double-doubles through the regular season. Maas also recorded the first triple-double in program history in a pivotal road win over Missouri Southern with 17 points, 18 rebounds and 11 blocks.
Birmingham stepped in as an offensive force for the Bearcats as a freshman to receive all-league recognition. The product of Norwalk, IA paced Northwest in scoring with 12.1 points per game. She finished the regular season as the MIAA's leader in three-point shooting at 37.2% and second in made threes with 67. Birmingham scored in double figures 18 times, including a career-high 25 points in a win over Arkansas Fort Smith.
Northwest Missouri State opens the MIAA Tournament Friday with a rematch against Missouri Southern. Game time from Kansas City is noon. Pregame on KXCV 90.5 and KRNW 88.9 begins at 11:30am.
