Kirkwood Community College - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Kirkwood edged in premier JUCO battle

They played a basketball game for grown men at Kirkwood Community College Wednesday night between two of the premier junior college teams in Iowa.

Based on what transpired at Johnson Hall, don't be surprised if both clubs end up playing in national tournaments this year.

The Reivers from Iowa Western nipped the Kirkwood Eagles, 76-74, in a highly entertaining contest that came down to the final shot of the game when Kirkwood guard Hunter Rhodes barely missed a 3-pointer from 35 feet.

Iowa Western is ranked No. 10 in the nation at the Division I level of junior college basketball and Kirkwood is ranked No. 2 in Division II, with the biggest difference in the divisions having to do with the amount of scholarship money available at each school.

When it came to the actual players on the floor, there was barely a dime's worth of difference.

Kirkwood Coach Bryan Petersen was mostly happy with the way his team played, but they don't award consolation prizes in college basketball.

"I thought we played pretty hard, definitely in spurts," said Petersen, "but as I keep telling the guys, you either get it done or you don't and we didn't get it done tonight."

Read more...

Miles leads KCC women by Mustangs

Casey Miles tossed in four 3-pointers and scored 16 points Saturday as the Kirkwood women's basketball team defeated the Mount Mercy junior varsity, 79-56, at Johnson Hall.

Caitlin Sudduth scored 11 points for the sixth-ranked Eagles, who raised their record to 9-3.

Jakaila Jordan led Mount Mercy with 13 points.

MOUNT MERCY (56): Goodman 3 0-0 7, Blowers 2 0-0 6, Lampe 3 0-0 6, Seelman 1 2-2 4, O'Donnell 2 1-4 5, Keating 2 2-2 6, Oltmanns 1 0-0 3, Valdez 1 0-0 3, Mougin 1 0-0 3, Chandler 0 0-0 0, Jordan 5 0-0 13, Palmer 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 5-8 56.

KIRKWOOD (79): Harris 4 0-2 8, Miles 5 2-2 16, Downs 2 0-0 4, Hutchins 2 3-4 8, Wood 3 0-0 6, Lemons 3 1-2 7, Wheatly 1 0-0 2, Oberman 1 4-4 6, Sudduth 3 4-4 11, Voss 2 0-0 5, Dampier 3 0-0 6, Jones 0 0-0 0. Totals 29 14-18 79.

Halftime - Kirkwood 35, Mount Mercy 30. 3-point goals - Mount Mercy 9 (Jordan 3, Blowers 2, Goodman 1, Oltmanns 1, Valdez 1, Mougin 1), Kirkwood 7 (Miles 4, Hutchins 1, Sudduth 1, Voss 1).

Jackson sparks No.2 Kirkwood men

The Kirkwood Eagles were not getting a whole lot accomplished in their men's basketball game against Black Hawk College Saturday afternoon when Coach Bryan Petersen reached deep into his bench and sent Al'Tavius Jackson onto the floor.

The 6-foot-1 freshman got things going in a hurry.

Jackson tossed in eight points with an impressive flurry late in the first half and finished with a career-best 18 points to help the second-ranked Eagles roll Black Hawk, 97-69, at Johnson Hall.

Jackson had not played in Kirkwood's last four games and had scored only 18 points all season. He matched that output in a single showing as the Eagles raised their record to 11-1.

Jackson had no idea he was going to get the call with his team locked in a tight battle in the first half, but he was happy to get a chance to prove himself and help his club.

Read more...

No.7 Kirkwood women crush Marshalltown

A.J. Downs scored 12 points Saturday afternoon as the seventh-ranked Kirkwood women's basketball team cruised to a 65-21 victory over Marshalltown at Johnson Hall.

Deleyah Harris and Ariana Dampier had nine points apiece for the Eagles (8-3). Madison Wood scored eight points.

KIRKWOOD (65): Harris 3 2-2 9, Lemons 2 1-2 5, Miles 0 3-3 3, Downs 5 1-1 12, Wheatly 2 0-0 4, Oberman 1 0-0 2, Sudduth 3 0-0 7, Voss 0 0-0 0, Hutchins 1 0-0 2, Dampier 3 1-1 9, Jennings 2 0-0 4, Jones 0 0-0 0, Wood 4 0-0 8. Totals 26 8-112 65.

3-point goals - Kirkwood 5 (Dampier 2, Harris 1, Downs 1, Sudduth 1).

KCC's Lueck, Wenzel named All-Americans

Kirkwood volleyball players Halle Lueck and Erin Wenzel have been named to the 2015 NJCAA Division II Volleyball All-America Teams.

Lueck, a 5-foot-9 sophomore, finished second in the nation with 1,761 assists and was named a first team All-American. Wenzel, a 6-foot sophomore, finished second in the nation with 627 kills and was named a second team All-American.

Lueck graduated from Cedar Rapids Prairie High School. Wenzel is from Clinton.

Kirkwood finished seventh at the national tournament this year with a 30-17 record.

No. 2 Eagles hold off John Wood

The Kirkwood men's basketball team jumped to No. 2 in the national rankings this week, but the Eagles had to fight like heck Wednesday night to stay there.

Josh Meier hit six straight free throws in the final 2 1/2 minutes and blocked a big shot as Kirkwood pulled away from John Wood, 69-61, in a non-conference game at Johnson Hall.

The Eagles, sporting a flashy 9-1 record, climbed four spots in the NJCAA Division II poll this week, but John Wood did not seem too impressed with Kirkwood's lofty spot in the poll.

The game was tied, 60-60, with three minutes left before Meier and the Eagles pulled it out.

Meier, a 6-foot-7 transfer from Chicago State, made two free throws with 2:32 left to snap the 60-60 tie and give Kirkwood a 62-60 edge. He then blocked a shot, got fouled again and cashed two more charity shots for a 64-60 edge with 1:57 left.

John Wood missed a shot, Kirkwood got the rebound and Meier hit two more free throws with 1:17 remaining to give the Eagles a little breathing room at 66-60.

Read more...

Hutchins helps No. 6 Eagles chop Wood

Kirkwood Coach Kim Muhl thinks Cyerra Hutchins has the talent to play Division I basketball next season, but Hutchins doesn't know what she'll be doing a year from now.

She's pursuing a business degree and would like to run her own company some day. Maybe she'll play basketball next year or maybe she'll become a full-time student somewhere.

It's all up in the air.

"I'm not really sure if I'm going to play basketball after Kirkwood," Hutchins said Wednesday night. "I don't know if I want to focus on my schooling for now and go to Iowa.

"It depends on the money situation," she said. "I kind of want to stay in Iowa and stay around here. It depends on what schools are offering me and what."

Hutchins wants to own her own store some day, perhaps focusing on athletic clothing.

Read more...

Olson sparks Eagles by Black Hawk

MOLINE, Ill. - Jacob Olson popped in 17 points Tuesday night to help the sixth-ranked Kirkwood Eagles trim Black Hawk, 73-70, in a junior college basketball game in Moline, Ill.

Olson, a sophomore from Cedar Rapids Jefferson, canned three 3-pointers.

Cristen Wilson collected a double-double for Kirkwood (8-1) with 15 points and 13 rebounds. Josh Meier finished with 13 points and eight rebounds. Hunter Rhodes collected 10 points and five assists.

KIRKWOOD (73): Bartlett 1 0-0 3, Rhodes 5 0-0 10, Richards 2 0-0 5, Woods 2 0-0 4, Harp 1 0-0 3, Olson 5 4-6 17, Meier 2 9-10 13, Wilson 7 1-2 15, Bonds 1 1-2 3. Totals 26 15-20 73.

3-point goals - Kirkwood 6 (Olson 3, Bartlett 1, Richards 1, Harp 1).

Kirkwood women top South Australia

The Kirkwood women’s basketball team used a balanced attack to beat the South Australia Institute of Sports, 67-56, Tuesday at Johnson Hall.

Madison Wood had 12 points, five rebounds and three blocks for the sixth-ranked Eagles (6-3).

Deleyah Harris, Rylee Voss and Cyerra Hutchins each 10 points, A.J. Downs had seven assists, and Casey Miles had seven points and six rebounds.

KIRKWOOD (67): Harris 4 0-0 10, Lemons 2 1-2 5, Miles 2 1-2 7, Downs 0 0-0 0, Wheatly 0 0-0 0, Sudduth 2 1-4 6, Voss 3 4-4 10, Hutchins 4 0-0 10, Dampier 3 0-2 7, Jennings 0 0-0 0, Jones 0 0-0 0, Wood 6 0-0 12. Totals 26 7-14 67.

3-point goals – Kirkwood 8-21 (Harris 2-6, Miles 2-4, Hutchins 2-3, Dampier 1-3, Sudduth 1-3, Downs 0-1, Voss 0-1).