DEXTER -- Dexter and Miller Career Academy mirror each other in many ways.
The Bearcats and the Phoenix will meet at 1 p.m. Saturday in a MSHSAA Class 4 quarterfinal at Jefferson College in Hillsboro. The winner will advance to the Show-Me Showdown, which is set for March 16-17 in Springfield.
Both teams beefed up their schedules in anticipation of the postseason.
"They play an extremely tough schedule. They play a lot of opponents from far off," Dexter coach Chad Allen said. "They're battled-tested. We're battle-tested. It should be a great game between us. I'm looking forward to it."
The Bearcats opened the season against Class 5 quarterfinalists St. Joseph's and Kirkwood. They competed in the multi-state SEMO Border Challenge in December in Poplar Bluff that featured two teams playing for state championship this season: Earle, Arkansas, and Pine Grove, Mississippi.
Dexter competes in the SEMO Conference that featured three district champions and has faced five teams who reached the state quarterfinals this season.
The Phoenix have taken on teams from Chicago, Mississippi and Ohio.
The Phoenix played fellow Class 4 quarterfinalist MICDS and perennial Class 5 power Rock Bridge.
Both teams excel when pushing the tempo.
"We definitely both like to push the ball up the floor," Allen said. "The main difference would be our size. Going into this game, we definitely want to take advantage of our size. Hopefully, we'll execute our gameplan and get out there and compete as hard as we can."
The Bearcats will have the height advantage with three players -- Rylee Allen, Maycie Martin and Hannah Thurmon -- standing 6 feet or taller.
"Probably their size is our biggest concern," Miller Career coach Darrin White said. "It may be our biggest challenge to match their size."
Zyiah Hodges is the only Phoenix player who is 6 feet tall. Hodges averages 6.6 points and 1.5 rebounds.
Thurmon averages 11.9 points and a team-high 6.8 rebounds. Martin averages 11.3 points and 5.4 rebounds. Allen averages 5.1 points and 6.1 rebounds.
Dexter and Miller Career, who last met in 2016 with the Bearcats winning the regular-season matchup 58-31, have three common opponents. They have each played Jackson, Poplar Bluff and Saxony Lutheran this season.
The Bearcats are 4-1 against those teams with Saxony Lutheran the only one to beat them, 71-54 Jan. 30 at Dexter. The Phoenix are 1-2 against those teams. Their only win came against Poplar Bluff, 66-60 in overtime.
Both teams are perennial playoff contenders.
The Bearcats, who have won eight-straight district titles, have reached the state quarterfinals for the third-straight year and the sixth time in seven years. They are attempting to reach the state semifinals for the second-straight year and the fifth time in 10 years.
The Phoenix have won seven district championships in 10 years. They have reached the state quarterfinals five times during that stretch and finished third in the state in 2008 and 2012. They beat Dexter en route to both of those third-place finishes -- 51-34 in the 2012 quarterfinals and 54-50 in the 2008 third-place game.
Both teams fought through injuries this season.
Miller Career's two leading scorers, Daisha Seltzer and Mauricea Mathis, each missed three games this season. Seltzer averages 14.4 points a game, and Mathis averages 10.4.
The Bearcats' second-leading scorer, Thurmon, missed seven games and leading scorer, Chaylea Mosby, missed three.
Mosby, a junior who averages 26.8 points a game, is Dexter's all-time leading scorer with 1,767 points.
The Bearcats (22-5) carry a four-game win streak into the quarterfinals and have won eight of their previous 10 games.
The Phoenix (17-9) have won nine of their past 10 games.
"Early in the season, we were plagued with injuries," White said. "In the last few weeks, we have been getting healthy to the point that we are almost back to 100 percent."
The Bearcats and Miller Career faced polar opposite degrees of difficulty in the sectional round.
Dexter routed North County 61-23 Tuesday night, and Miller Career defeated Gateway 63-61 in overtime.
The Phoenix trailed Gateway 22-15 at halftime and 48-36 with 3:24 left in the game, according to stltoday.com.
The unranked Phoenix hope to avoid falling behind by double figures against the sixth-ranked Bearcats.
"The key to our success will be for us to maintain our level of focus," White said.