Metro Sports Report

No. 2 Eagles survive upset bid at tourney

HARRISON, Ark. - The Kirkwood Eagles breathed a big sigh of relief Wednesday night and moved into the semifinals of the NJCAA Division II national tournament.

The second-ranked Eagles squandered most of a 16-point lead but survived an upset bid by seventh-ranked North Arkansas, 65-61, in the quarterfinals of the women's tourney at Pioneer Pavilion.

Kirkwood (33-3) will face third-ranked Highland (31-0) in the semifinals Friday night at 6 p.m.

Kirkwood led 45-29 midway through the third quarter, but the Eagles committed a string of turnovers that helped North Arkansas storm back into the ballgame at 45-43 early in the fourth period with a 14-0 run.

The Pioneers, playing before a big crowd on their home floor, had all the momentum in their favor, but the Eagles never got rattled and found a way to win their 23th straight game and hand North Arkansas its only loss at home this season.

"They had a great crowd, a great atmosphere," said Kirkwood Coach Kim Muhl, who is seeking his eighth national title. "They hit shots that were tough shots, I thought.

"We survived it," he said. "I thought our kids showed a lot of resilience. Just enough to win."

Christmas Puok hit a pair of big 3-pointers to give Kirkwood a little breathing room at 52-44 with 6:15 left and it was still an eight-point game at 60-52 when Awal Ajak scored for the Eagles with 1:45 remaining.

No. 12 Kirkwood baseball sweeps twinbill

MARSHALLTOWN - The 12th-ranked Kirkwood baseball team raised its record to 16-3 Wednesday afternoon by sweeping a doubleheader at Marshalltown, 5-3 and 10-1.

The Eagles have won seven straight games heading into weekend doubleheaders at DMACC Saturday and Sunday.

Kirkwood scored two runs in the top of the seventh inning to snap a 3-3 tie and grab the opener. Taylor Jackson went 3-for-4 with a double, home run, two RBIs and three runs.

Izaya Fullard was 2-for-4 with three RBIs. Will Rodruck picked up the victory in relief with two scoreless innings and Kaden Wadle got the save with a perfect inning in the bottom of the seventh.

No. 2 KCC women roll at national tourney

HARRISON, Ark. - The Kirkwood Eagles jumped to a 24-2 lead after the first quarter Tuesday afternoon and crushed Gogebic Community College, 95-56, in the opening round of the NJCAA Division II national tournament.

The second-ranked Eagles (32-3) will face North Arkansas College (20-6) in the quarterfinals Wednesday at 8 p.m.

North Arkansas is the host school and the entire tournament is being played on its home court at Pioneer Pavilion in Harrison, Ark., where they have a strong following.

"It will be packed here tomorrow night," said Kirkwood Coach Kim Muhl. "It will be rocking, because they're pretty excited about them playing. It will be a wild one, I think."

North Arkansas won its regional title to earn a spot in the national tournament as the No. 7 seed.

"They had to win the right to get here and they did," said Muhl. "It's not going to be easy, because they play very well here. I'm telling you, it's going to be packed.

"They had a large crowd today and the gym was full, so I can't imagine at 8 o'clock how many people will crawl out from under the rocks."

KCC women seeking 8th national title

The Kirkwood Eagles learned what it takes to win a national title last year when they captured the NJCAA Division II crown in Arkansas.

Now they hope to do it again.

The second-ranked Eagles (31-3) face Gogebic of Ironwood, Mich. (16-12) in the opening round of the women's basketball tournament Tuesday at 3 p.m. at the Pioneer Pavilion in Harrison, Ark.

It took a combination of talent, clutch shooting and a little luck to win the title in 2017. Six of the Eagles who played on last year's team are back for another shot.

This year's sophomores were wide-eyed freshmen a year ago. Now they are battle-tested and ready to tangle.

"After going our freshman year, it's more like a business trip for us sophomores," said Olivia Usher, a Cedar Rapids Prairie grad. "As a freshman you have a ton of emotions, you're extremely excited. You don't know what it's going to be like when you get down there.

"But we know the kind of teams that are going to be down there," she said. "It's going to be tough games every single game, every night."

There are only 16 teams at the national tournament, so the Eagles will need four victories this week for Coach Kim Muhl to claim his eighth national title in 29 years at Kirkwood.

Gogebic presents an unusual challenge for the Eagles. They have only seven players on the roster, but two of them are prolific scorers who know how to put the ball in the basket with Lori Wardynski averaging 27.0 points and Bailey Froberg at 22.5 points.

Kirkwood cannot match that kind of individual firepower, but the Eagles have superior depth on their roster. Eight players are averaging between 5 and 11 points per game and several others make valuable contributions off the bench as well.