Metro Sports Report

No. 1 Eagles cruise to 12-0 record

MILWAUKEE - Paige Bradford and Natalie Tomaszewski scored 14 points  apiece Friday night as the top-ranked Kirkwood Eagles raised their  record to 12-0 with a 90-43 victory over John Wood in the opening  round of the Bobcat Classic.

Bradford, who leads NJCAA Division II in shooting at 69.7 percent,  went 6-for-11 from the field and collected nine rebounds, three  assists, three steals and one blocked shot.

Kemara Watson scored 12 points for Kirkwood. Ju Gaston contributed 10  points and five assists. Kortney Drake had six assists.

John Wood (2-11) shot 18.8 percent from the floor (12 of 64).

Kudumovic named MMU women's soccer coach

Mount Mercy Hall of Famer and NAIA all-American Alen Kudumovic has  been chosen to lead the women's soccer program at Mount Mercy,  Athletic Director Paul Gavin announced Thursday. Kudumovic will assume  the role Dec. 16.

"It's my pleasure to welcome Alen back to Mount Mercy," said Gavin.  "His commitment, dedication and passion for the sport of soccer, along  with his love for this university, is a winning combination that will  strengthen our women's soccer program and support efforts to ensure  quality student-athlete experiences in sport and academics."

Kudumovic graduated from Mount Mercy in 2003 with a degree in business  administration and earned a masters in strategic leadership from the  university in 2018. While pursuing his graduate degree, he served as  the graduate assistant coach for the Mustang men's soccer program from  2016-18.

Sims helps No. 12 Eagles stuff SCC

Seybian Sims likes to score a bunch of points if he can, but that's  not the end of the basketball floor that he enjoys the most.

"Me personally," he said Wednesday night, "I prefer playing defense  over offense. Honestly."

He proved it last night.

Sims helped the Kirkwood Eagles hold Southeastern to 24 points in the  second half to cement a 75-56 non-conference victory at Johnson Hall.

Sims finished with 13 points, 12 rebounds, two assists and a big steal  as Kirkwood whipped the Blackhawks for the first time since 2015,  snapping a five-game losing streak to SCC.

Kirkwood trailed 32-29 at halftime, but the Eagles pelted the  Blackhawks 46-24 in the second half while shooting 69.2 percent. It  all started on defense.

"Defense. Defense. Defense," said Sims, a 6-foot-7 sophomore from Iowa  City West. "We really strive on defense."

Gosnell ignites No. 16 Eagles past Lakers

Niko Gosnell has been a terrific athlete for a long time, but now he's  becoming an accomplished college basketball player for the Kirkwood  Eagles.

The evidence was obvious Saturday.

Gosnell scored a season-high 15 points and ignited the 16th-ranked  Eagles with his defense in a 91-84 victory over 20th-ranked Iowa Lakes  in an ICCAC conference game at Johnson Hall.

Gosnell was a key ingredient in the second half when Kirkwood exploded  for a 24-6 run, turning an eight-point deficit into a 10-point lead.  He scored seven points and blocked three shots during that surge as  the Eagles grabbed a 61-51 lead with 9:26 left in the game.

Just a few minutes earlier, they were staring at a 45-37 deficit.

Gosnell began the explosion with a dunk. Then he blocked a shot,  leading to a layup by Seybian Sims at the other end. Gosnell blocked  another shot and Gacoby Jones scored, then the Eagles got another stop  and Devonte Thedford scored to tie the game.