Metro Sports Report

Appel returns to help lift Eagles

Luke Appel has spent too much time on the disabled list this season  for the Kirkwood Eagles.

First he rolled his ankle and missed two games early in the year, then  he suffered a freak injury in the weight room a few weeks ago and  missed three more outings.

Appel returned Wednesday night and scored 20 points as the 16th-ranked  Eagles topped Marshalltown, 89-73, in a non-conference game at Johnson  Hall.

Appel stopped by the trainer's room after the contest for them to  examine the tip of his ring finger on his left hand, which is his  shooting hand. He's lucky the entire finger is still there.

"I dropped a weight and broke my finger in the weight room," he  explained. "It cracked my finger straight in half. You could see the  bone.

"I almost amputated my finger," he said.

When he dropped the 45-pound plate, his finger got caught underneath.  It's still bent out of shape and discolored, but he felt good enough  to play.

Mustangs respond against Grand View

The Mount Mercy Mustangs did a little soul-searching during halftime against Grand View Monday night.

The Mustangs, coming off a 30-point loss at Graceland, played poorly during the first half against Grand View Monday with numerous lapses on defense and little intensity.

"We just had to toughen up," said junior Dennis McKinney. "Davion Watson, one of our seniors, talked to us and we finished it by saying,  'If we want to play in March, we can't play like we did in the first  half tonight.'"

Mount Mercy, determined to play better, owned the second half and collected an 80-65 victory over the Vikings in a Heart of America Conference game at the Hennessey Recreation Center.

The Mustangs went on a 17-0 run early in the second half for a 59-50  lead, with stiffer defense fueling the attack, and it ultimately turned into a 34-6 surge for a 20-point advantage at 76-56 with 5:34  left in the game.

Mount Mercy completely dominated Grand View during that 13-minute stretch with some of its best basketball of the season.

Coach Aaron Jennings said they talked about defense at halftime. "Grand View was carving us up in the first half," he said. "Just open shot after open shot after open shot."

It was all about effort, said Jennings.

Grand View tops Mount Mercy women

The Mount Mercy women's basketball team lost to Grand View, 82-66, in  a Heart of America Conference game at the Hennessey Recreation Center  Monday night.

The Mustangs fell to 2-5 overall and 1-3 in the conference. Grand View  raised its records to 6-2 overall and 3-1 in the league.

Sofia Popp led Mount Mercy with 20 points and seven rebounds. Brianna  Thomas scored 17 points and Taseandra Parker chipped in with 11.  Kyleigh Milan grabbed seven rebounds and Paris Sheck had five assists.

Shannon Pisney led Grand View with 20 points and nine rebounds. Mia  Rosener had 12 points, eight rebounds and six blocks. Casey Carr  scored 14 points for the Vikings, Brianda Bane 13 and Brooke Trautsch  12.

Muhl nets 899th victory at Kirkwood

COUNCIL BLUFFS - Kim Muhl is on the verge of reaching another  milestone as the Hall of Fame women's basketball coach at Kirkwood  Community College.

The top-ranked Eagles clipped Jefferson College, 78-68, in the second  round of the Iowa Western Classic Saturday to give Muhl his 899th  victory in 31 years at Kirkwood.

Muhl's first chance to reach 900 wins will come Wednesday night when  the Eagles visit Southeastern Community College in Keokuk at 6 p.m.

Muhl has compiled an 899-158 mark at Kirkwood with seven NJCAA  Division II national titles. The Eagles are 9-0 this season heading  into conference games.

Paige Bradford scored 18 points on 8-for-9 shooting and grabbed six  rebounds to guide Kirkwood past Jefferson. Amara Lipsey finished with  16 points, seven rebounds and four assists.

Kemara Watson contributed 14 points and seven rebounds off the bench  for the Eagles. Tatiana Hodges-Johnson pitched in with eight points  and eight rebounds. Ju Gaston had six assists.