Kirkwood Womens Basketball

Eagles, Mustangs ready for new season

Tim Sandquist inherited a deep and talented team when he became the  new men's basketball coach at Kirkwood Community College this summer.

Now he's made the 2019 national champions even deeper.

D.J. Purnell, who averaged 8.5 points and 4.9 rebounds last season,  has transferred to Kirkwood from Midland College in Texas. And Owen  Coburn, a 6-foot-10 center who originally committed to South Dakota  State, has enrolled with the Eagles instead.

Purnell and Coburn signed with Kirkwood after Sandquist became the  head coach. They join a half-dozen returning players who helped  Kirkwood win the NJCAA Division II national title last March year,  giving Sandquist lots of options as the Eagles prepare for their  season opener Friday night against Illinois Central at the SCC Classic  in West Burlington.

Kirkwood begins the 2019-20 campaign as the top-ranked team in the  country, and Sandquist welcomes the assignment of trying to repeat as  national champs.

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11 Eagles earn regional honors

Eleven players from the Kirkwood men’s and women’s basketball teams  have received postseason honors on the all-regional teams announced  Monday.

Doug Wilson was named the Outstanding Player in NJCAA Division II  Region XI and led the first-team selections. Allante Pickens joined  Wilson on the first team.

Luke Appel was named second team all-region. Devonte Thedford and  Connor Kasperbauer were named Honorable Mention.

The Kirkwood men won the regional title Saturday and will play in the  national tournament next week in Danville, Ill.

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KCC women fall in regional finals

MASON CITY - The Kirkwood women's basketball team is ranked No. 4 in the country, but the Eagles will not get a chance to compete for the national title this season.

Kirkwood lost to second-ranked NIACC, 77-70, in the championship game of the NJCAA Division II regional tournament Sunday in Mason City.

NIACC, enjoying the home-court advantage in the entire regional, advances to the national tournament March 19-23 in Harrison, Ark., with a 27-5 record and 15-game winning streak.

Coach Kim Muhl and the Kirkwood Eagles finished the season with a 27-7 record.

Kirkwood and NIACC tied for the conference title, but NIACC won the tiebreaker for the No.1 seed and home court. Kirkwood and NIACC played three times this season and the home team won each time, with NIACC prevailing twice in Mason City.

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KCC women eye regional title

MASON CITY - To no one's surprise, the fourth-ranked Kirkwood Eagles  and second-ranked NIACC Trojans will battle for the regional title in  women's basketball Sunday.

To everyone's chagrin, only one of these premier teams will qualify  for the national tournament and the other one will be done for the year.

Only the regional champion reaches the national tournament. There are  no at-large bids in NJCAA Division II basketball, so one of the best  teams in the country will not make it.

Kirkwood reached the regional finals by topping DMACC, 68-60, in the  semifinals Saturday in Mason City. NIACC advanced by stomping Iowa  Central, 88-49, in the other semifinal.

Kirkwood (27-6) and NIACC (26-5) will tangle Sunday at 1 p.m. on  NIACC's home floor in Mason City. The two teams tied for the  conference title and swapped six-point victories on their home courts,  but NIACC won the tiebreaker and was awarded the home-court advantage  in the regional.

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