Mt. Mercy Women's Basketball

O'Donnell will play at Mount Mercy

Kandis O'Donnell of Cedar Rapids Washington plans to stay in town and play college basketball at Mount Mercy University.

O'Donnell, a 5-foot-11 forward, averaged 10.8 points and 5.3 rebounds for Washington this season. She helped the Warriors compile a 13-9 record.

O'Donnell was named first team all-Mississippi Valley Conference and first team all-Metro. She will be joining Washington grad Abby Herb with the Mustangs.

Osborne, Herb honored by NAIA

Dondre Osborne of Mount Mercy University has been named a second team Division II All-American by the NAIA after leading the Mustangs to the national tournament and the Midwest Collegiate Conference title.

Abby Herb of Mount Mercy received honorable mention on the NAIA All-America team.

Osborne was named the MCC Player of the Year and led the Mustangs in scoring (14.6), assists (5.0) and steals (2.4).

Herb led Mount Mercy in scoring (17.6) and posted five double-doubles. She scored 30 points or more in five games. She also averaged 6.0 rebounds.

Clarke denies Mustangs in MCC final

It was a typical "ugly" match-up between the Clarke and Mount Mercy women's basketball teams.

The usual result when the two teams meet in Cedar Rapids has been a Mustang victory. With a berth in the NAIA Division II national tournament on the line, the visiting Crusaders picked an opportune time to turn the ugly game into a thing of beauty.

Senior Amanda Hamilton hit 4-of-5 free throws in the final minute as Clarke held off the Mustangs, 56-52, to win the final MCC Tournament title on Monday night before a good crowd at the Hennessey Recreation Center.

"Every time we have played them the last two years, the game has been in the 50s," Adams said. "We don't play the prettiest games with Mount Mercy, but this is the first time we have ever won on this court."

Clarke (20-13), the fourth-seed, used stingy defense and timely offense to earn a berth in the national tournament beginning on March 11 at the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City.

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Mount Mercy women sail into finals

DES MOINES - The Mount Mercy women's basketball team dumped Grand View, 71-51, in the semifinals of the Midwest Collegiate Conference tournament Saturday and is now one victory away from reaching the NAIA Division II national tournament.

The surging Mustangs (19-13) will host Clarke (19-12) in the MCC tournament finals Monday at 7 p.m. at the Hennessey Recreation Center.

Mount Mercy knocked off the No. 2 seed Saturday when it whipped Grand View by 20 points. Now the Mustangs - seeded No. 3 for the tournament - will be facing the No. 4 seed in Clarke for the title.

Abby Herb poured in 22 points for Mount Mercy against Grand View. Alisa Weiland and Paige Last scored 10 points apiece. Christa Oldham had eight points and eight rebounds. Makenzie Zeitler provided six points and seven rebounds.

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