Kirkwood Womens Basketball

Harris helps No. 1 Eagles clinch title

Except for her bout with bronchitis, Kirkwood sophomore Deleyah Harris had a pretty good day Wednesday.

Harris nearly recorded a triple-double as the top-ranked Eagles held off NIACC, 93-81, to clinch the outright conference title and run  their perfect record to 29-0.

On top of that, the 5-foot-9 guard picked up a Division I college scholarship offer after the game from Missouri-Kansas City head coach Marsha Freese, a Cedar Rapids native who was at Johnson Hall.

Harris was happy to receive her first offer from a D-I school, especially one that's close to her home in Omaha, but she was not  ready to commit on the spot.

Her commitment right now is to getting healthy and trying to help Kirkwood win the NJCAA Division II national title.

Harris finished with 21 points, 11 rebounds and seven steals in 32 minutes of action. She used an inhaler several times to help her breathing while battling bronchitis, but managed to keep going.

"My adrenaline was running," she said. "I was tired, but I had to keep going."

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No. 1 Kirkwood women clinch ICCAC title

FORT DODGE - The top-ranked Kirkwood women's basketball team clinched  at least a tie for the ICCAC conference title Saturday with a 78-47  victory over Iowa Central in Fort Dodge.

The Eagles secured the No. 1 seed for the regional tournament and  raised their records to 28-0 overall and 12-0 in the league.

Shaneequah Watkins made all four of her 3-pointers and led a balanced  attack with 17 points. Deleyah Harris scored 16 points, Simone Goods  had 14 and Tay Tay Wilson 13.

Goods was named the national NJCAA Division II Player of the Week for  her performances in two victories last week.

KIRKWOOD (78): Harris 6 2-2 16, T.Wilson 4 5-6 13, Puok 0 0-0 0,  Axcell 2 0-0 6, Taylor 0 0-0 0, Watkins 6 1-1 17, Voss 1 1-2 3, Cotton  3 1-2 7, Goods 5 4-5 14, Usher 1 0-0 2. Totals 28 14-18 78.

3-point goals - Kirkwood 8 (Watkins 4, Harris 2, Axcell 2).

No. 1 Eagles lose Ajak to torn ACL

Kirkwood Coach Kim Muhl is confident his team can make a good run in the postseason tournament next month, but the top-ranked Eagles will have to do it without Awal Ajak.

Ajak, a 6-foot freshman from Des Moines, confirmed Wednesday night that she suffered a torn ACL in her left knee in a win over Southwestern on Feb. 11 and has been lost for the season. Her surgery is scheduled for Monday.

Kirkwood collected another blowout Wednesday with an 85-37 victory over Southeastern Community College at Johnson Hall, but Muhl knows  the Eagles will face stiff competition if they reach the national tournament and compete for the national title.

Kirkwood (27-0, 11-0) has not been pushed by too many teams this season, but Muhl is confident they'll respond to the challenge when  the time comes and kick into a higher gear, even without Ajak.

"With this group, I think they can," he said. "They've got a pretty strong mental approach to the game. They know what's at stake.

"They bought in, they guard and they really pass the ball to each other."

Ajak, a key reserve on a deep and talented club, was averaging 8.1  points and 3.7 rebounds when she got hurt. She watched Wednesday's game in street clothes with her crutches nearby.

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Wilson nets 20 as No. 1 Eagles roll

Kirkwood Coach Kim Muhl went on a recruiting trip to the Chicago suburbs last year to scout a player at Rich East High School who ended  up going to Monroe College in New York.

It turned out to be a fruitful trip, however, because Muhl landed a  talented point guard from Rich East instead.

Hello, Tay Tay Wilson.

Wilson made three 3-pointers tossed in 20 points Saturday to help the  top-ranked Eagles gun down the DMACC Bears, 82-57, in an ICCAC  Conference game at Johnson Hall.

"We were actually recruiting another kid from her high school," Muhl  explained. "I liked Tay. She hit shots. Point guards that can hit  shots are fun."

Wilson made it a fun day for Kirkwood as the Eagles raised their  impeccable records to 26-0 overall and 10-0 in the league with four  games left in the regular season.

Wilson, a 5-foot-6 freshman, is averaging just 6.5 points and 3.2  assists for Kirkwood, but don't be fooled by those modest numbers.  She's the floor general on a deep and balanced club where the points,  rebounds and assists are spread around.

Wilson can score 20 points and help her club win a ballgame, or she  can score no points and help her team.

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