Metro Sports Report

Wilson lifts No. 2 Eagles at buzzer

MASON CITY - Tay Wilson hit a 15-footer with one second remaining Wednesday night to snap a 68-68 tie and give the second-ranked Kirkwood Eagles a riveting 70-68 victory over 13th-ranked NIACC in an ICCAC conference game in Mason City.

The win gave the Kirkwood women a commanding three-game lead in the conference standings over NIACC and DMACC with five games left in the season.

Kirkwood led NIACC by three points, 68-65, with time dwindling, but NIACC hit a long 3-pointer from about 28 feet to tie the game at 68-68 with eight seconds left.

Kirkwood Coach Kim Muhl called a timeout and instructed his players to feed Arika Wooldridge near the basket. Wooldridge got the ball and fed Wilson near the elbow of the foul line for the game-winning shot.

The Eagles raised their records to 23-3 overall and 9-0 in the conference with their 13th straight victory. NIACC fell to 19-6 overall and 6-3 in the league.

Kirkwood has won its nine conference games by an average of 23.8 points, but NIACC has given the Eagles their tightest games of the ICCAC campaign by far. Kirkwood won by nine points, 68-59, in Cedar Rapids earlier this season before the two-point squeaker Wednesday night.

Wilson powers No. 6 Eagles by NIACC

MASON CITY - Doug Wilson scored 27 points and grabbed eight rebounds Wednesday night as the sixth-ranked Kirkwood Eagles dumped NIACC, 78-49, in an ICCAC conference game in Mason City.

The Eagles raised their records to 19-4 overall and 8-0 in the league with their 11th straight win. Kirkwood leads the ICCAC standings by two games with four games left in the regular season.

The Eagles can clinch at least a tie for the league title Saturday when they host Iowa Lakes, which sits in second place in the conference with a 6-2 record.

Chris King popped in five 3-pointers and contributed 17 points for Kirkwood. LJ Stansbury added 10 points.

No. 7 Eagles ride 3-pointers to victory

It's a good thing Bryan Petersen did not forbid his guys from shooting any more 3-pointers after the Kirkwood Eagles missed 16 of them in the first half Saturday.

When it counted, the Eagles hit nothing but net.

Kirkwood popped in six straight 3-pointers during a key stretch in the second half to break open a close game and bounce Iowa Central, 85-79, in a conference game at Johnson Hall.

The Eagles were clinging to a 52-48 lead when the 3-point barrage began with eight minutes remaining.

Carlo Marble began the flurry with a triple from the corner. Ethan Meeker followed with a 3-pointer, then Bailey Kale connected from behind the arc to join the fun.

Marble hit another trey, Meeker followed suit and Marble capped the impressive display with another 3-pointer to give Kirkwood a 73-56 advantage with a four-minute onslaught from behind the arc.

No. 2 Eagles pass chemistry test

The Kirkwood Eagles feel good about themselves when they make a good play, but they seem happiest when one of their teammates does something even better.

It's called chemistry and it's been a key ingredient for the second-ranked Eagles this season.

Kirkwood collected its 12th straight victory Saturday and remained in control of the ICCAC conference race with an 80-39 victory over Iowa Central in a women's basketball game at Johnson Hall.

Sophomore point guard Tay Wilson led the Eagles (22-3, 8-0) with 19 points, five steals and four assists, but her biggest smiles were for the other Eagles who joined the fun.

Freshman Mackenzie Jenkins popped off the bench and popped in four 3-pointers for 14 points. Sophomore Megan Axcell hit three triples and scored 11 points in the triumph. Many other Eagles also played well and there were lots of smiles go around.