Rated Kirkwood teams roll past Spartans

CNA photo by LARRY PETERSON Sneaking behind: Bailey Sprague of Southwestern (23) slips behind KirkwoodÕs Kalli Hansen (32) attempting to rebound a missed free throw Wednesday.

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Southwestern basketball teams got a a close-up look at two teams ranked in the nation’s top five Wednesday night. Neither outcome was pleasant for the Spartans, as the No. 1-ranked Kirkwood women rolled to a 90-38 victory, and the fifth-ranked men followed with an 81-46 triumph. The top-ranked Eagle women improved to 24-1 overall and 13-0 in the ICCAC Division II standings. An assistant coach from Southern Illinois University was among those in attendance watching Division I recruit El Sara Greer, a 6-2 sophomore from Waterloo. But Greer wasn’t the only one inflicting damage on Southwestern’s hopes Wednesday. Kalli Hansen, 5-11 freshman from Olin, poured in 19 points including two of the team’s seven 3-pointers. The outside shooting combined with inside power of the likes of Greer and 6-1 freshman Andi Waugaman of last year’s Waukee state tournament team made things difficult for coach Buck Scheel and the Spartans. “They are so long and they move so well,” Scheel said. “Defensively they are so solid with great communication and helping each other. There’s not a whole lot you can do when they can play inside out like that. And everyone they bring off the bench could start for other teams in the league.” Southwestern trailed 51-20 at halftime and scored only nine points in the first 15 minutes of the second half, trailing 81-29. Hilary Runyan scored on two inside moves in the final three minutes and finished with a team-high seven points. Southwestern (11-13, 5-9) travels to Estherville Saturday to take on the 13-11 Iowa Lakes women. Kirkwood’s No. 5 men’s team improved to 8-0 in the league and 20-4 overall. Yet, southwestern was playing even with the Eagles through the first seven minutes. Tyler Raasch’s lay-in off a back cut closed Kirkwood’s lead to 12-10 at the 13:18 mark of the half. However, by halftime the Eagles had raced to a 46-26 lead. Three consecutive fastbreak layups midway through the second half pushed Kirkwood’s advantage to 76-38, and the Spartans finished with only 20 points in the second half. Raasch ended up with a game-high 18 points for Southwestern. No other Spartan reached double figures. “It was very evident that scheduling that (William Penn) game Monday could have been a mistake,” said Southwestern coach Mike Holmes. “We looked like we had no energy, no snap to our offense. We are a system that is dependent on those things. Our mental mistakes defensively were too numerous to name at halftime. Throw in the highest quality team in the league on top of that, and you have a recipe for a bad outing.” The Spartans take on Iowa Lakes (16-9, 4-5) on Saturday. WOMEN KIRKWOOD (90) — Kalli Hansen 8 1-1 19, Jayne Strand 6 4-5 16, Alicia Wright 4 1-1 11, El Sara Greer 4 1-2 9, McKensey Long 2 4-4 9, Jaleesa Gordon 1 3-4 6, Kari Goodchild 2 2-2 6, Andi Waugaman 1 3-4 5, Nicole Holman 2 0-0 5, Amanda De La Cruza 1 0-0 2, Staci Gillum 1 0-0 2. Totals — 32 14-23 90. 3-point goals — 7 (Wright 2, Hansen 2, Holman 1, Long 1, Gordon 1). Team fouls — 16. Fouled out — None. SOUTHWESTERN (38) — Hilary Runyan 3 1-1 7, Andrea Ahrendt 2 2-2 6, Bailey Sprague 2 0-0 5, Nakya Clark 0 5-8 5, Robin Moore 0 4-4 4, JayLee Davison 2 0-0 4, Ariel Green 1 1-2 4, Haley Wessling 1 0-0 3. Totals — 11 13-17 38. 3-point goals — 3-18 (Wessling 1, Green 1, Sprague 1). Rebounds — Ahrendt 9, Green 5, Davison 5. Assists — Moore 3, Clark 2, Wessling 2. Steals — Green 4, Sprague 2, Moore 2. Blocked shots — Davison 1, Green 1, Runyan 1. Turnovers — 19. Team fouls — 18. Fouled out — None. Kirkwood — 51 90 SWCC — 20 38 ——— MEN KIRKWOOD (81) — Joel Barkers 6 1-3 13, Bryce Brunz 5 0-0 12, Jarvis Williams 6 0-2 12, Brian Bradley 3 0-0 9, Jordan Stoermer 2 2-2 7, Rick Bowers 3 1-1 7, Rashad Basey 2 2-4 6, Lamar Wall 2 0-0 6, Bryant Kucera 2 1-2 5, Jack Bruns 1 0-0 2. Totals — 32 7-14 81. 3-point goals — 8 (Bradley 3, Wall 2, Brunz 2, Stoermer 1). Team fouls — 16. SOUTHWESTERN (46) — Tyler Raasch 7 2-2 18, De’Everett Williams 2 4-6 8, Kristian Williams 2 0-0 5, Jamahl DePriest 2 0-0 5, Royce Phillips 2 0-0 4, Trent Fisher 1 2-2 4, Wil Wilson 1 0-0 2. Totals — 17 8-10 46. 3-point goals — 4 (Raasch 2, Williams 1, DePriest 1). Team fouls — 15. Fouled out — None. Kirkwood — 46 81 SWCC — 26 46 —————— Larry Peterson can be reached at 782-2141, ext. 232 or lpeterson@crestonnews.com