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Kirkwood guard Tay Tay Wilson drives to the basket during Thursday night's victory over Southwestern in the regional semifinals at Johnson Hall. (MSR photo by Ken Gilchrist)

No. 1 KCC women make regional final

Fri - 10 Mar Written by Mike Condon

You don't win six national championships by settling.

Kim Muhl has coached the Kirkwood women to the pinnacle six times in his 28 years as head coach and his current Eagles' team has the potential to be his best yet.

Kirkwood won for the 32nd time without a loss Thursday night, steamrolling Southwestern, 79-52, in the Region XI tournament semifinal at Johnson Hall.

The win allows the top-ranked Eagles to host Saturday's 1 p.m. tournament final. The opponent will be NIACC (19-12), a 90-80 upset winner over No. 11 DMACC in Thursday's other semifinal.

One would think Muhl would be happy with Thursday's outcome.

Guess again.

The veteran Eagles' coach was disappointed in the play of his bench, which logged more minutes than usual when sophomore center Simone Goods injured her ankle less than two minutes into the game and had to head to the training room for treatment.

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Kirkwood sophomore Miles Wentzien splits two Iowa Lakes defenders during the regional semifinals at Johnson Hall Thursday night. (MSR photo by Ken Gilchrist)

Kirkwood men sink Iowa Lakes

Fri - 10 Mar Written by Mike Condon

Mental toughness was a key ingredient in Kirkwood's national championship run last March.

That same vibe was evident Thursday night for the Kirkwood men in the Region XI semifinal against Iowa Lakes.

The teams went back and forth for the first 32 minutes as neither led by more than seven points during that span.

However, the final eight minutes belonged to Kirkwood. Paced by a monster night from sophomore Miles Wentzien, the Eagles gradually pulled away for a 97-84 victory at Johnson Hall.

No. 15 Kirkwood (25-6) now faces a monumental challenge in Saturday's 3 p.m. regional final. The Eagles hit the road to meet No. 1 Southwestern (31-1) in Creston.

The Spartans' only loss was a 78-75 setback against Kirkwood on Jan. 11 in Cedar Rapids. They advanced with an easy 94-62 win on Thursday over Ellsworth.

The Eagles had a little payback on their mind Thursday after dropping a 101-73 decision to Iowa Lakes last Saturday in Mason City.

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Xavier guard Matt Mims drives against Mount Pleasant center Tom O'Connor during the Class 3A state tournament in Des Moines Tuesday. Mims scored 17 points and had seven assists in the 59-44 victory. (MSR photo by Margaret O'Banion)

Saints earn date with No. 1 Waverly

Wed - 08 Mar Written by Jim Ecker

DES MOINES - The Xavier Saints like being the underdog.

They relish it, embrace, thrive on it.

That's good, because the Saints will be big underdogs Thursday night when they face top-ranked Waverly-Shell Rock in the semifinals of the Class 3A state basketball tournament.

The Saints reached the semifinals Tuesday afternoon when they whipped fourth-ranked Mount Pleasant, 59-44, in the opening round at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

Xavier (14-11) and Waverly-Shell Rock (23-1) will tangle Thursday at 6:35 p.m.

Waverly-Shell Rock dumped the Saints by 22 points, 76-54, when they met in Waverly in the second game of the season Dec. 3.

"We learned that they're really freaking good," Xavier Coach Ryan Luehrsmann said when asked about the Go-Hawks. "They've got a big-time player in (Austin) Phyfe and a bunch of tough, competitive kids.

"We're just hoping that we can give them a good game on Thursday night. I think they're playing at a very high level right now."

Phyfe, a 6-foot-10 senior who has signed with Northern Iowa, is averaging 19 points and 13 rebounds for Waverly-Shell Rock and could be a load for Xavier. But the Saints faced an impressive big man last year when they defeated Cordell Pemsl and Dubuque Wahlert in the Class 3A state championship game, so they've been in this spot before.

"We have to send a lot of guys at him and not let him get comfortable and take away what he likes to do most," said Max Techau, a 6-foot-7 senior who will have the primary job of guarding Phyfe.

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King me! Kirkwood escapes NIACC

Wed - 08 Mar Written by Jim Ecker

The defending national champions were in trouble Tuesday night in the opening round of the regional tournament when Da'Rion King came came to the rescue for the Kirkwood Eagles.

King muscled in 12 points during a key six-minute stretch late in the game to help the 15th-ranked Eagles escape NIACC, 78-71, in a tense ballgame at Johnson Hall.

Kirkwood (24-6) will host 19th-ranked Iowa Lakes (22-8) in the NJCAA Division II regional semifinals Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

King, a 6-foot-6 sophomore from Racine, Wis., finished with 23 points and 11 rebounds for the Eagles, doubling his season-long averages of 11.1 points and 5.6 boards.

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No. 1 Kirkwood women roll in regional

Wed - 08 Mar Written by Metro Sports Report

Deleyah Harris scored 20 points Tuesday night as the top-ranked Kirkwood women's basketball team defeated Ellsworth, 72-48, in the quarterfinals of the regional tournament at Johnson Hall.

Kirkwood (31-0) will host Southwestern (17-14) in the regional semifinals Thursday at 5:30 p.m.

Simone Goods collected 16 points and eight rebounds for the Eagles. Olivia Usher finished with 10 points, five rebounds and five assists. Rylee Voss provided eight points and eight rebounds off the bench.

Antoinette Williams scored 13 points for Ellsworth.

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