Metro Sports Report

Thedford powers No. 8 Eagles

BOONE - Devonte Thedford celebrated his return to the starting lineup  with an impressive performance for the Kirkwood Eagles Thursday night.

Thedford poured in a career-high 28 points to help the eighth-ranked  Eagles defeat DMACC, 94-78, in an ICCAC conference game in Boone.

The victory lifted Kirkwood to 22-4 overall and 10-2 in the  conference. The Eagles trail seventh-ranked NIACC (11-1) by one game  in the league standings with two games left in the regular season.

Kirkwood All-American Doug Wilson contributed 22 points, 11 rebounds  and four assists. Jamal Stephenson sparked the Eagles off the bench  with four 3-pointers and 16 points.

Allante Pickens scored 10 points for Kirkwood. Luke Appel collected 11  rebounds.

Mustangs bump off No. 16 Statesmen

Inch for inch, Antwain Strong is unquestionably one of the best NAIA  basketball players in the country.

He proved it again Wednesday night.

Strong flirted with a triple-double with 12 points, 10 assists and  nine rebounds as Mount Mercy whipped 16th-ranked William Penn, 92-84,  in a key Heart of America Conference game at the Hennessey Recreation  Center.

Strong, a 5-foot-11 senior, made some unbelievable jitterbug moves to  the basket and had a string of sensational passes as the little  Mustangs knocked off the towering Statesmen.

William Penn looked like a Big Ten team when it walked into the gym  with talented players who measured 6-foot-11, 6-foot-9, 6-foot-9 and a  pair of 6-foot-7 guys. Meanwhile, Mount Mercy's tallest player on the  floor was only 6-foot-5.

Somehow, the Mustangs slayed the giants.

"I have a motto my cousin taught me when I was growing up," said  Strong. "He always told me 'Heart over Height.' So as long as you have  heart, that makes up for a lot of your height. And that's what we live  by."

Strong is averaging 12.9 points, 6.4 assists and 5.2 rebounds. He  ranks third in the country in assists and has neared a triple-double  before, but Wednesday's performance kept the Mustangs in the hunt for a favorable seed in the Heart of America Conference tournament with two home games left in the regular season.

Aldrich-Ingram commits to Grand View

Kirkwood All-American Alexa Aldrich-Ingram plans to continue her college volleyball career at Grand View University in Des Moines.

Aldrich-Ingram began her college career at Drake University in 2017. She spent one season at Kirkwood and now is returning to Des Moines to play for the Grand View Vikings.

Aldrich-Ingram, a 5-foot-8 outside hitter from Iowa City, helped  Kirkwood place fourth at the NJCAA Division II national tournament and finish with a 34-10 overall record. She finished second in the nation  with 709 kills and had 133 blocks.

Aldrich-Ingram was named a first team All-American by the NJCAA and was honored as a second team All-American by the American Volleyball Coaches Association.

No. 7 Kirkwood softball wins pair

DES MOINES - The seventh-ranked Kirkwood softball team won two more  games at the Winter Dome Tournament in Davenport Sunday.

The Eagles trimmed Southeastern, 5-3, and blanked Waubonsee, 11-0, in  five innings.

Kirkwood (4-0) scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning  against Southeastern to snap a 3-3 tie. Erin Hocker retired the side  in the seventh inning to finish the victory.

Hocker tossed a complete game for the Eagles. She allowed three runs  on seven hits, with four strikeouts and three walks.

Taleah Smith went 3-for-4 for Kirkwood against Southeastern. Jayme  Finn and London Jackson had two hits. Finn drove in three runs and had  a triple.