Metro Sports Report

Mensen breaks loose for No. 1 Eagles

Brianna Mensen could be playing basketball for a strong Iowa Conference school like Wartburg right now, but she'd like to play for an NCAA Division I team some day.

That's why she came to Kirkwood Community College, to work on her skills and try to help the top-ranked Eagles win another NJCAA  national title.

It looks like she's headed in the right direction.

Mensen came off the bench Friday night and poured in 19 points to help  Kirkwood whack McCook, 94-36, in the opening round of the Kirkwood Classic at Johnson Hall.

Mensen, a 5-foot-11 freshman from Maquoketa Valley, scored only 15 points in Kirkwood's first five games for a modest average of 3.0  points per game, but she showed plenty of potential Friday.

"She has a chance to go Division, I think, after another year," said Kirkwood Coach Kim Muhl. "She can play three positions. And she's  going to get better.

6 KCC baseball players heading to DI schools

Six members of the Kirkwood Community College baseball team signed national letters-of-intent with NCAA Division I schools Wednesday  during a ceremony at Johnson Hall.

Shortstop Korry Howell, who was drafted in the 19th round by the  Kansas City Royals this past June, signed with the Iowa Hawkeyes to lead the parade of Eagles to major colleges.

Howell hit .394 with six homers and 43 stolen bases for Kirkwood as a freshman. He returned to the Eagles this season despite being selected in the MLB draft.

Second baseman Cal Clark, a Cedar Rapids Prairie grad, signed with Houston Baptist University. Clark hit .294 with three homers last season for Kirkwood and committed only five errors in 47 games.

First baseman Spencer Wiskus, a sophomore from Iowa City West, and outfielder Ellison Hanna, a sophomore from the Bahamas, both signed letters with Indiana State. Wiskus, who is also a catcher, hit .279  with four homers at Kirkwood last season. Hanna hit five homers for the Eagles as a freshman.

King nets 31 as Eagles knock on Wood

Chris King did not change any diapers for the young Kirkwood Eagles Wednesday night, but he did everything else with an impressive performance at Johnson Hall.

King poured in 31 points as the 14th-ranked Eagles topped John Wood Community College, 79-64.

King, a 6-foot point guard from Des Moines, popped in four 3-pointers, made strong drives to the basket and rescued the Eagles after a  21-point lead had shrunk to five points in the second half.

He scored 10 points during an 11-2 run as Kirkwood raised its advantage to 60-46 and took it home from there.

There are 12 new players at Kirkwood this season and it's been King's job to help Coach Bryan Petersen mold a cohesive unit.

"These guys are coming to work every day, so it's not really that hard to lead them," King remarked.

The Eagles opened a pair of 21-point leads in the first half at 35-14 and 41-20, but John Wood pulled within 49-44 early in the second half  and forced Kirkwood to call a pair of timeouts.

Kirkwood women sail by John Wood

The top-ranked Kirkwood women's basketball team used a balanced  scoring attack to dunk John Wood, 75-36, in a junior college game at Johnson Hall Wednesday night.

Tinee'sha Coleman, a transfer from the University of Cincinnati, led the Eagles with 10 points off the bench.

Coach Kim Muhl used 14 players in the game and all of them dented the scoring column, although none of the starters reached double figures.

Tay Wilson, Megan Axcell and Leah Robinson scored nine points apiece. Olivia Usher added eight points.

Wilson also had seven assists, three rebounds and two steals for Kirkwood.