Kirkwood Community College - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Kirkwood women fall in tourney finals

EAST PEORIA, Ill. - The top-ranked Kirkwood Eagles lost to 10th-ranked Illinois Central, 80-74, in overtime in the championship round of the 38th Annual Cougar Holiday Tournament Monday.

Kirkwood blasted Illinois Central, 74-45, when they met Nov. 16 in the Kirkwood Classic in Cedar Rapids, but the rematch was completely different.

There was a big discrepancy in free throws Monday. Illinois Central was 25 for 40 at the foul line, while Kirkwood was 10 of 17. Illinois Central was called for 16 fouls, while Kirkwood was whistled for 28 personal fouls.

Kirkwood rallied in the fourth quarter to tie the game, 64-64, and force overtime, but Illinois Central prevailed in the extra session 16-10.

The Eagles suffered their first loss and fell to 15-1. Illinois Central raised its mark to 10-4 with three straight victories in its own holiday tournament.

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No. 1 Eagles sail into Cougar Holiday finals

EAST PEORIA, Ill. - The top-ranked Kirkwood women's basketball team crushed 20th-ranked McHenry County, 69-38, Sunday in the semifinals of the 38th Annual Cougar Holiday Tournament.

The Eagles (15-0) will face 10th-ranked Illinois Central (9-4) in the championship game Monday at 4 p.m. at Illinois Central.

Kirkwood blasted Illinois Central, 74-45, when they met Nov. 16 in the Kirkwood Classic.

Tatiana Hodges-Johnson led the Eagles Sunday with 16 points. Paige Bradford collected a double-double with 10 points, 13 rebounds, four blocks, two assists and one steal.

Amara Lipsey finished with 13 points, six rebounds, three steals and one assist. Ju Gaston provided 10 points, six steals, four rebounds and four assists.

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No. 1 Eagles cruise at Cougar Holiday Tourney

EAST PEORIA, Ill. - The top-ranked Kirkwood women's basketball team defeated Carl Sandburg College, 63-42, in the opening round of the 38th Annual Cougar Holiday Tournament Saturday.

The Eagles (14-0) will face 20th-ranked McHenry County (11-1) in the semifinals Sunday at 2 p.m.

Paige Bradford collected a double-double for Kirkwood with 13 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, three steals and two blocks. Kortney Drake scored 12 points for the Eagles and Tatiana Hodges-Johnson netted 11.

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No. 1 KCC women rally for 13th win

MILWAUKEE - The top-ranked Kirkwood women's basketball team rallied  from a 13-point deficit Saturday and topped 13th-ranked Briggs &  Stratton, 78-71, in the final round of the Bobcast Classic.

The Eagles (13-0) trailed 22-9 after the first quarter, but they  outscored Briggs & Stratton 27-12 in the second period to take a 36-34  edge at halftime.

Kirkwood hit 10 of 12 free throws in the final 2:18 to secure the victory.

Ju Gaston led the Eagles with 16 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds and 3  steals. Tatiana Hodges-Johnson collected a double-double with 14  points and 14 rebounds.

Kemara Watson provided 13 points and six rebounds. Natalie Tomaszewski  grabbed 11 rebounds and scored nine points.

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KCC men earn 3-week break

QUINCY, Ill. - The 12th-ranked Kirkwood men's basketball team raised  its record to 10-3 Saturday with a 69-59 victory over John Wood  College on the road.

The Eagles will return to action in three weeks on Saturday, Jan. 4 at  Illinois Valley Community College.

Devonte Thedford shot 8 for 11 from the floor and led Kirkwood with 17  points. DJ Purnell collected a double-double with 15 points and 10  rebounds off the bench, along with four steals. Griffin Clark popped  in three 3-pointers and scored 10 points.

Kirkwood held John Wood (5-9) to 25 points in the second half. Dallas Bryson scored 14 points for the Blazers.

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No. 1 Eagles cruise to 12-0 record

MILWAUKEE - Paige Bradford and Natalie Tomaszewski scored 14 points  apiece Friday night as the top-ranked Kirkwood Eagles raised their  record to 12-0 with a 90-43 victory over John Wood in the opening  round of the Bobcat Classic.

Bradford, who leads NJCAA Division II in shooting at 69.7 percent,  went 6-for-11 from the field and collected nine rebounds, three  assists, three steals and one blocked shot.

Kemara Watson scored 12 points for Kirkwood. Ju Gaston contributed 10  points and five assists. Kortney Drake had six assists.

John Wood (2-11) shot 18.8 percent from the floor (12 of 64).

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Sims helps No. 12 Eagles stuff SCC

Seybian Sims likes to score a bunch of points if he can, but that's  not the end of the basketball floor that he enjoys the most.

"Me personally," he said Wednesday night, "I prefer playing defense  over offense. Honestly."

He proved it last night.

Sims helped the Kirkwood Eagles hold Southeastern to 24 points in the  second half to cement a 75-56 non-conference victory at Johnson Hall.

Sims finished with 13 points, 12 rebounds, two assists and a big steal  as Kirkwood whipped the Blackhawks for the first time since 2015,  snapping a five-game losing streak to SCC.

Kirkwood trailed 32-29 at halftime, but the Eagles pelted the  Blackhawks 46-24 in the second half while shooting 69.2 percent. It  all started on defense.

"Defense. Defense. Defense," said Sims, a 6-foot-7 sophomore from Iowa  City West. "We really strive on defense."

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Gosnell ignites No. 16 Eagles past Lakers

Niko Gosnell has been a terrific athlete for a long time, but now he's  becoming an accomplished college basketball player for the Kirkwood  Eagles.

The evidence was obvious Saturday.

Gosnell scored a season-high 15 points and ignited the 16th-ranked  Eagles with his defense in a 91-84 victory over 20th-ranked Iowa Lakes  in an ICCAC conference game at Johnson Hall.

Gosnell was a key ingredient in the second half when Kirkwood exploded  for a 24-6 run, turning an eight-point deficit into a 10-point lead.  He scored seven points and blocked three shots during that surge as  the Eagles grabbed a 61-51 lead with 9:26 left in the game.

Just a few minutes earlier, they were staring at a 45-37 deficit.

Gosnell began the explosion with a dunk. Then he blocked a shot,  leading to a layup by Seybian Sims at the other end. Gosnell blocked  another shot and Gacoby Jones scored, then the Eagles got another stop  and Devonte Thedford scored to tie the game.

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Bradford powers No. 1 Eagles

Paige Bradford of Kirkwood says she's lost a few pounds since the end  of last season, which is why she's playing a lot better right now.

A few pounds? Coach Kim Muhl says Bradford has shed about 20 pounds  since March.

"She's changed her body and she's a better player," Muhl said  Saturday. "That's made her quicker and confident."

Bradford hit 7 of 9 shots and scored 17 points as the top-ranked  Eagles crushed Iowa Lakes, 77-42, in an ICCAC Conference game at  Johnson Hall.

This past Wednesday, Bradford was a perfect 12 of 12 from the field  and poured in a career-best 27 points when the Eagles topped  Southeastern for Muhl's 900th victory as head coach.

Bradford is leaner, meaner and much quicker around the basket this season.

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