Kirkwood Community College - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

KCC men fall short in regional final

CRESTON — Falling into a 7-0 hole in the opening two minutes left 15th-ranked Kirkwood playing from behind the entire afternoon Saturday at
top-ranked Southwestern for the Region XI men's basketball championship.

The Eagles battled back twice within two points in the first half and closed it to a single point (70-69) with 8:25 to play, but the Spartans
hung on for a 98-90 victory.

The defending national champion Eagles ended their season at 25-7. Southwestern (32-1) advances to the NJCAA Division II national tournament
March 21-25 in Danville, Ill. The Spartans' only loss of the season was a 78-75 setback at Kirkwood on Jan. 11.

Southwestern stretched its early lead to 20-8 before the Eagles went on an 8-0 run to close it to 20-16. Kirkwood coach Bryan Petersen said the slow
start made it too much of an uphill battle.

"Our kids battled back to get within striking distance several times, but we just didn't have enough to get over the top," Petersen said.

A highlight for the Eagles offensively was sophomore Byron Harp of Ankeny. He was 9-of-10 at the free throw line in the first half and finished
19-of-20 at the line while scoring a career-best 35 points.

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No. 1 KCC women take 33-0 mark to nationals

The players on the Kirkwood women's basketball team like to tease  Coach Kim Muhl and call him "The Man, The Myth, The Legend" when he's  conducting a post-game interview and they pass him in the hallway.

"The Man, The Myth, The Legend" got even bigger Saturday.

The top-ranked Eagles spanked NIACC, 90-61, in the championship game  of the regional tournament at Johnson Hall and will carry a glittering  33-0 record to the national tournament.

Muhl has captured six national titles during his Hall of Fame career  and thinks he has the ingredients for Lucky No. 7.

"Oh yeah. We're capable," he said. "We have to stay healthy and get a  few breaks."

The NJCAA Division II national tournament will be played in Harrison,  Ark., from March 21-25.

NIACC popped in ten 3-pointers in the first half and was within 48-44  at intermission, but the Eagles destroyed the visitors in the second  half and won easily.

Muhl has coached a lot of outstanding teams at Kirkwood, but he's  never had a club that went undefeated for the regular season and  regional.

"Pretty special. Pretty special," he said before the Eagles cut down  the championship net. "Great group. We'll see who we've got (at  nationals) and go from there."

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KCC men fall short in region final

CRESTON — Falling into a 7-0 hole in the opening two minutes left
15th-ranked Kirkwood playing from behind the entire afternoon Saturday at
top-ranked Southwestern for the Region XI men's basketball championship.

The Eagles battled back twice within two points in the first half and
closed it to a single point (70-69) with 8:25 to play, but the Spartans
hung on for a 98-90 victory.

The defending national champion Eagles ended their season at 25-7.
Southwestern (32-1) advances to the NJCAA Division II national tournament
March 21-25 in Danville, Ill. The Spartans' only loss of the season was a
78-75 setback at Kirkwood on Jan. 11.

Southwestern stretched its early lead to 20-8 before the Eagles went on an
8-0 run to close it to 20-16. Kirkwood coach Bryan Petersen said the slow
start made it too much of an uphill battle.

"Our kids battled back to get within striking distance several times, but
we just didn't have enough to get over the top," Petersen said.

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No. 5 Kirkwood softball wins twice

COLUMBUS, Ga. - The fifth-ranked Kirkwood softball team won both of  its games at the NFCA Classic Friday in Georgia.

The Eagles trimmed Northwest Florida State, 4-3, in their first game  and dumped Baltimore-Catonsville, 13-0, in the second contest.

Monika Bevans delivered an RBI single in the top of the seventh inning  to snap a 3-3 tie and give Kirkwood the victory in the opener. Bevans  had two hits and two RBIs in the game.

Morgan Frost was 3-for-4 for the Eagles. DoniRae Mayhew had two hits  and a two-run single in the first innng. Lexi Ferrari also had two hits.

Lexi Kinnaird pitched a complete game for the victory, allowing three  runs on seven hits. She struck out six batters and did not walk anyone.

Ferrari and Mayhew belted home runs for Kirkwood in the 13-0 victory  over Baltimore-Catonsville. Ferrari had two hits and drove in four  runs. Taylor Nearad was 3-for-4 with three runs and two RBIs.

Angie McBeain pitched four innings for the victory. She allowed two  hits, with five strikeouts and no walks.

Kirkwood will face two of the top teams in the country Saturday in the  tournament. The Eagles (12-0) are scheduled to meet second-ranked  LSU-Eunice at 11:30 and will face top-ranked Jones County at 4:30.

GAME 1

Kirkwood        200 001 1 - 4 10 0
NW Florida St.  000 201 0 - 3 7 2

W - Kinnaird.

GAME 2

Baltimore-Catonsville   000 00 - 0 2 2
Kirkwood                (10)12 0x - 13 10 2

W - McBeain.

No. 1 KCC women make regional final

You don't win six national championships by settling.

Kim Muhl has coached the Kirkwood women to the pinnacle six times in his 28 years as head coach and his current Eagles' team has the potential to be his best yet.

Kirkwood won for the 32nd time without a loss Thursday night, steamrolling Southwestern, 79-52, in the Region XI tournament semifinal at Johnson Hall.

The win allows the top-ranked Eagles to host Saturday's 1 p.m. tournament final. The opponent will be NIACC (19-12), a 90-80 upset winner over No. 11 DMACC in Thursday's other semifinal.

One would think Muhl would be happy with Thursday's outcome.

Guess again.

The veteran Eagles' coach was disappointed in the play of his bench, which logged more minutes than usual when sophomore center Simone Goods injured her ankle less than two minutes into the game and had to head to the training room for treatment.

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Kirkwood men sink Iowa Lakes

Mental toughness was a key ingredient in Kirkwood's national championship run last March.

That same vibe was evident Thursday night for the Kirkwood men in the Region XI semifinal against Iowa Lakes.

The teams went back and forth for the first 32 minutes as neither led by more than seven points during that span.

However, the final eight minutes belonged to Kirkwood. Paced by a monster night from sophomore Miles Wentzien, the Eagles gradually pulled away for a 97-84 victory at Johnson Hall.

No. 15 Kirkwood (25-6) now faces a monumental challenge in Saturday's 3 p.m. regional final. The Eagles hit the road to meet No. 1 Southwestern (31-1) in Creston.

The Spartans' only loss was a 78-75 setback against Kirkwood on Jan. 11 in Cedar Rapids. They advanced with an easy 94-62 win on Thursday over Ellsworth.

The Eagles had a little payback on their mind Thursday after dropping a 101-73 decision to Iowa Lakes last Saturday in Mason City.

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King me! Kirkwood escapes NIACC

The defending national champions were in trouble Tuesday night in the  opening round of the regional tournament when Da'Rion King came came  to the rescue for the Kirkwood Eagles.

King muscled in 12 points during a key six-minute stretch late in the  game to help the 15th-ranked Eagles escape NIACC, 78-71, in a tense  ballgame at Johnson Hall.

Kirkwood (24-6) will host 19th-ranked Iowa Lakes (22-8) in the NJCAA  Division II regional semifinals Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

King, a 6-foot-6 sophomore from Racine, Wis., finished with 23 points  and 11 rebounds for the Eagles, doubling his season-long averages of  11.1 points and 5.6 boards.

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No. 1 Kirkwood women roll in regional

Deleyah Harris scored 20 points Tuesday night as the top-ranked Kirkwood women's basketball team defeated Ellsworth, 72-48, in the  quarterfinals of the regional tournament at Johnson Hall.

Kirkwood (31-0) will host Southwestern (17-14) in the regional semifinals Thursday at 5:30 p.m.

Simone Goods collected 16 points and eight rebounds for the Eagles. Olivia Usher finished with 10 points, five rebounds and five assists.  Rylee Voss provided eight points and eight rebounds off the bench.

Antoinette Williams scored 13 points for Ellsworth.

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Kirkwood softball team wins 32-0

ROSEMONT, Ill. - The Kirkwood softball team has a powerful lineup that  is capable of scoring lots of runs, but things got out of hand at the  N4C Dome Jamboree Sunday.

The fourth-ranked Eagles creamed McHenry County College, 32-0, in five  innings in the second game of their doubleheader.

Kirkwood blanked McHenry, 8-0, in the first game in five innings.

DoniRay Mayhew went 5-for-6 with two home runs and eight RBIs for the  Eagles in the 32-0 romp. Taylor Nearad also went 5-for-6 with three  RBIs and four runs scored.

Morgan Frost went 4-for-5 with with three RBIs and four runs. Angie  McBeain was 4-for-4 with three runs. Lexi Ferrari was 3-for-5 with six  RBIs and four runs.

Monika Bevans went 4-for-5, while Audra Bridenstine and Megan Kublik  had three hits. The Eagles collected 35 hits in the ballgame against  Makayla Stephens, who pitched the entire game for McHenry and allowed  all 32 runs and all 35 hits.

Mayhew pitched a one-hitter with six strikeouts and no walks in the  32-0 victory for Kirkwood.

Lexi Kinnaird also tossed a one-hitter for Kirkwood in the 8-0  victory. She struck out 12 batters and did not walk anyone.

Bevans went 3-for-3 for the Eagles in the first game. Maddie Hansen  went 2-for-3 with two RBIs.

GAME 1

McHenry     000 00 - 0 1 4
Kirkwood    431 0x - 8 11 2

W - Mayhew. L - Wiegman.

GAME 2

Kirkwood    642 (12)8 - 32 35 0
McHenry     000 00 - 0 1 4

W - Kinnaird. L - Stephens.