Metro Sports Report

Mount Mercy women fall by 31

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - The Mount Mercy women's basketball team is still looking for its first victory in the Heart of America Conference.

The Mustangs were drubbed by Evangel, 88-57, Saturday for their seventh straight loss in the conference.

Audrey Mulumba had 19 points and eight rebounds for Mount Mercy (4-8, 0-7). Sarah Moffett scored 11 points.

Robinson sparks No. 11 Eagles by Owens

MILWAUKEE - Leah Robinson played her best game of the season Friday night to help the Kirkwood Eagles defeat Owens Community College,  60-40, in the opening round of the Lady Bobcat Classic.

Robinson collected 15 points, four rebounds and four steals for the 11th-ranked Eagles in 20 minutes off the bench. She shot 5-for-7 from the field and was 5-for-6 at the foul line.

Kirkwood (8-4) will face Joliet Junior College (9-3) in the championship game Saturday at 3 p.m.

Kirkwood trailed 17-10 after the first quarter, but the Eagles  outscored Owens 13-1 in the first 7 1/2 minutes of the second period  to move ahead in the ballgame. Kirkwood pounded Owens 23-11 in the  third quarter to firmly take control.

Eagles dumped by Blackhawks, 75-63

The Kirkwood Eagles shot poorly, committed 19 turnovers, got pounded on the backboards, missed too many free throws and struggled on defense much of the night.

"That's just a recipe for disaster," Coach Bryan Petersen acknowledged Wednesday night.

Southeastern Community College surged to a 22-point lead in the first half and dumped the Eagles, 75-63, in a non-conference game at Johnson Hall.

Kirkwood (10-2) has lost only two games all season and both setbacks have been to the Blackhawks, including an 86-84 verdict Nov. 3 in the second game of the campaign.

The Eagles had won nine straight games before running into a buzz-saw in the first half when SCC soared to a 34-12 advantage with seven minutes left in the stanza.

Petersen said the biggest problem was a lack of mental toughness.

"They came out and kind of took it right to us in a lot of ways," he said. "We couldn't finish around the rim, we couldn't get the ball across halfcourt against their pressure, and defensively we couldn't guard the paint. So a lot of things went wrong in the first five or 10 minutes."

Mustangs snap 7-game slide

The Mount Mercy women's basketball team snapped a seven-game losing streak Wednesday night with a 72-65 victory over Harris-Stowe State at the Hennessey Recreation Center.

The Mustangs (4-7) had not won a ballgame since Nov. 6, a five-week drought that included a 23-point loss to Harris-Stowe in Missouri, so revenge was sweet.

Brianna Thomas popped in six 3-pointers and led Mount Mercy with 22 points. She hit a triple with 7:01 left to snap a 53-53 tie and give the Mustangs the lead for good and start a 9-0 run.

Harris-Stowe (4-5) pulled within 62-60 and 65-62, but Mount Mercy finished the victory.