Kirkwood Community College - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Kirkwood men take care of DMACC

BOONE - Kyle Arrington and Chris King popped in 17 points apiece Saturday as the second ranked Kirkwood Eagles topped DMACC, 79-61, in the final game of the ICCAC conference season in Boone.

Kirkwood (28-3) will host Little Priest Tribal College (14-16) in the quarterfinals of the regional tournament Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Johnson Hall.

The Eagles captured the ICCAC title with an 11-1 record, good for a two-game spread over runner-up Iowa Lakes.

Ethan Meeker contributed 10 points for Kirkwood.

Read more...

Kirkwood softball splits in Kansas

CONCORDIA, Kan. - The Kirkwood softball team split its two games at the Cloud County Spring Classic Saturday in Kansas.

The seventh-ranked Eagles topped Central Community College-Columbus, 8-5, in their first game and lost to 16th-ranked Highland Community College, 9-1, in their second outing.

Kirkwood (7-1) is scheduled to play two more games in the tournament Sunday.

DoniRae Mayhew belted two home runs, drove in three runs and scored three times in the 8-5 victory over Central. She also was the winning pitcher, with seven strikeouts in six innings.

Read more...

KCC baseball sweeps Lewis & Clark

GODFREY, Ill. - The Kirkwood baseball team rode good work by their starting pitchers Saturday to a sweep of Lewis & Clark College in Godfrey, Ill.

Cameron Leff allowed only one earned run in five innings in a 7-5 victory in the first game, then Adam Ketelsen allowed did exactly the same thing in an 11-1 verdict in the nightcap.

The sweep lifted the Eagles to 4-2 for the season heading into another twinbill at Lewis & Clark Sunday.

Cal Clark drove in two runs for Kirkwood in the 7-5 victory in the opener. Ellison Hanna and Chili Moseley had two hits. Kaden Wadle got the final two outs in the bottom of the seventh for the save.

Read more...

KCC softball sweeps No. 5 Johnson County

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. - Freshman Lauren Kuch went 5-for-7 with six RBIs Friday as the seventh-ranked Kirkwood softball team swept fifth-ranked Johnson County, 8-5 and 14-4, in Overland Park, Kan.

The Eagles raised their record to 6-0.

Kuch went 3-for-4 with two RBIs in the first game. Hannah Mauser was 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs. Lauren Klaahsen was 2-for-4 with  two RBIs and Audra Bridenstine was also 2-for-4. Natalie Halvorson got the win.

Kuch went 2-for-3 with four RBIs in the 14-4 victory in the second game, which was stopped after five innings by the mercy rule. Rachel  Stewart was 3-for-3 with three runs and two RBIs. Bridenstine had two more hits and two RBIs. Monika Bevans drove in three runs.

DoniRae Mayhew and Alli Sprague split the pitching, with Mayhew going 2 2/3 innings for the win.

Read more...

No. 2 KCC men stung by Ellsworth

The Kirkwood men's basketball team climbed a notch to No. 2 in the national rankings this week, but the Eagles will probably slip a few spots after what happened Wednesday night at Johnson Hall.

The Eagles never found their rhythm and were stung by Ellsworth, 81-76, in overtime in an ICCAC conference game.

The Eagles have already clinched the conference title and the No. 1 seed for the NJCAA Division II regional that begins Tuesday at Kirkwood, but their impressive 14-game winning streak is history heading into the final game of the regular season Saturday.

Ellsworth will finish in the second division of the league standings, but the Panthers outplayed the Eagles and deserved to win.

"They beat us in every category," said Kirkwood Coach Bryan Petersen, who could not find any silver linings.

The Eagles trailed by five points with 30 seconds left in the second half, but they forced overtime at 69-69 when Doug Wilson connected for a layup with 3.5 seconds remaining.

Kirkwood scored the first basket in overtime for a 71-69 edge, but Ellsworth outscored the Eagles 12-5 the rest of the way.

Read more...

Robinson gives No. 2 Eagles a boost

Kirkwood Coach Kim Muhl never saw Leah Robinson play in high school and never saw her play in any spring or summer tournaments.

In fact, he cannot remember if Robinson played in any pick-up games when she visited Kirkwood on a recruiting trip last year.

It didn't matter.

The coach at Kentucky State University thought Robinson could use a little seasoning at a junior college before attending a four-year school, so he called Muhl and recommended his friend take a look.

Muhl also sought a second opinion from another college coach and got another strong recommendation.

"It's all about having friends," Muhl said Wednesday night with a smile. "She visited, liked it here and we signed her."

It turned out to be a great piece of recruiting, even though Muhl barely had to lift a finger.

Robinson has been a key reserve for the second-ranked Eagles all season and showed her worth again in a 78-42 stroll past Ellsworth in an ICCAC conference game at Johnson Hall.

Read more...

KCC baseball splits with No. 17 Johnson County

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. - The Kirkwood baseball team split a doubleheader  with Johnson County Community College Sunday.

The Eagles won the first game, 9-4, in eight innings. Johnson County  took the nightcap, 4-3.

Kirkwood (2-2) and Johnson County (8-3) split the four-game series in  Kansas. Johnson County is ranked No. 17 in NJCAA Division I. Kirkwood  is not ranked in Division II.

The first game was tied, 4-4, after seven innings. The Eagles plated  five runs in the top of the eighth for the victory.

Kaden Wadle pitched 2 1/3 shutout innings for the Eagles in the opener  and got the victory in relief.

Izaya Fullard went 2-for-5 in the first game and scored a pair of  runs. Kal Youngquist and Max McCay drove in two runs. Ellison Hanna  scored twice.

Read more...

No. 3 KCC men win title in thriller

CRESTON - The third-ranked Kirkwood men's basketball team claimed the  outright ICCAC conference title Saturday afternoon and they did it by  edging the 2017 national champs in a thriller.

Doug Wilson had a monster game for the Eagles with 23 points and 13 rebounds, including the go-ahead tip-in with 16 seconds left in an  82-80 verdict over 18th-ranked Southwestern in Creston.

Kirkwood raised its records to 22-4 overall and 10-0 in the conference  with its 14th win a row. There are two games left in the regular season, but nobody can catch the Eagles now.

Kirkwood trailed, 80-79, when Wilson tipped in a shot to give the  Eagles an 81-80 advantage. The Eagles stopped Southwestern from  scoring to preserve the lead, then the Spartans fouled Kirkwood  freshman Jay Small to stop the clock and prolong the game.

Small made 1-of-2 free throws for an 82-80 lead, then Wilson stole the  ball in the final seconds to preserve the victory.

Chris King popped in 24 points for Kirkwood. LJ Stansbury contributed  14 points for the Eagles.

Read more...

Kirkwood women claim outright title

CRESTON - Tayana Wilson collected 20 points and five assists Saturday  as the second-ranked Kirkwood women's basketball team topped  Southwestern, 73-47, to claim sole possession of the ICCAC conference  title.

The Eagles raised their records to 26-3 overall and 12-0 in the league  with their 16th straight victory. They own a three-game lead in the  ICCAC standings with two games remaining.

Wilson, a sophomore point guard, shot 8-for-9 from the field and  clicked on four 3-pointers.

Leah Robinson contributed 11 points and seven rebounds for Kirkwood.  Mackenzie Jenkins had seven rebounds, six points, four steals and two  assists. Megan Axcell scored nine points. Awal Ajak had eight points  and six rebounds.

Keaundra Washington scored 10 points for Southwestern (7-19, 0-12).

Read more...