Metro Sports Report

Cortes wins 5,000 at Heart indoor meet

CRETE, Neb. - Vanessa Cortes of Mount Mercy captured the 5,000 meter-run at the Heart of America Conference indoor track meet Friday.

Cortes won the race in 18 minutes, 44.46 seconds on the opening day of  the two-day meet.

Rachel Gadient of Mount Mercy finished second in the women's  pentathlon. The Mustangs also placed second in the 4x800 relay in  9:48.17 with Kathryn Vander Poel, Mady Roth, McKenna Johnson and  Andrea Ertz sharing the baton.

The Mount Mercy women are in second place in the team standings after  three events, with the bulk of the meet scheduled for Saturday.

Short-handed Eagles top SCC

At one point during Wednesday's game against Southeastern at Johnson Hall, Kirkwood women's basketball coach Kim Muhl turned to his bench looking for players.

The No. 2 Eagles already had four players sitting in street clothes. When Muhl turned, one player was getting checked out by a trainer and yet another had run to the locker room area not feeling well.

"We got a couple of kids sick and we got a couple of kids (banged up)," Muhl said. "We're holding it together with a Band-Aid right now."

Still, the Eagles found a way to win. They jumped to an early 12-0 lead only to see the visitors cut the margin to one in the third quarter before pulling away for a 63-44 ICCAC triumph.

"It was a tough team win," said the veteran Kirkwood coach. "I think the kids gutted it out. It was just one of those things where you have to tough it out."

Kirkwood (20-5, 10-0) won for the ninth straight time, but did it without starters Ashley Tull and Haley Mullinnix. Tull, Kirkwood's leading scorer at just over 10 points per game, is out for the season after tearing her ACL in the Eagles' earlier win over the Blackhawks on Jan 17. Mullinnix, who has played some of her best basketball over the past couple of weeks, was injured in last Saturday's win over Little Priest.

McKinney shines for Mustangs on road

MARSHALL, Mo. - The Mount Mercy Mustangs returned to full strength Wednesday night and it showed with a 20-point victory on the road.

Dennis McKinney popped in six 3-pointers and poured in 31 points as Mount Mercy whipped Missouri Valley, 91-71, in a Heart of America Conference game in Missouri.

The important triumph lifted the Mustangs to 13-11 overall and 8-10 in the conference.

Mychael Brawner-Henley returned from a school suspension and contributed eight points and six rebounds in 14 minutes off the bench. Mohammed Albagami, who missed the previous game due to concussion protocol, also returned and scored eight points.

Bailey Basala, who missed several games in January due to a sprained ankle, hit four 3-pointers and contributed 12 points. Antwain Strong also notched 12 points with five rebounds and five assists.

Mustangs falter in second half

MARSHALL, Mo. - The Mount Mercy women's basketball team enjoyed an eight-point lead at halftime Wednesday night, but the second half was an entirely different story.

Missouri Valley pounded the Mustangs 30-6 in the third quarter and collected an 83-62 victory in a Heart of America Conference game.

Mount Mercy led 33-25 at intermission, but Missouri Valley dominated the second half 58-29 for the 21-point verdict.

Audrey Mulumba led the Mustangs with 16 points and six rebounds. Aaliyah Brown contributed 14 points. Sara Blowers had 12 points. Sharice Kawakami dished out six assists.