The Kirkwood women’s basketball season came to an end as the team finished in second place at the NJCAA Division II national tournament.
Going into the tournament, Kirkwood had the sixth seed after a 26-3 regular season. The Eagles first matchup was against the 11th-seed Community College of Baltimore County, whom they defeated with a double-digit victory, 68-50.
They kept rolling with strong victories against third-seed Harcum College and two-seed Illinois Central College.
Suddenly the Eagles found themselves in the championship game against fourth-seed Pima Community College.
The Eagles and the Aztecs went back and forth; at halftime the Eagles led 30-27. After the third quarter, Kirkwood still led by three points. However, Pima took total control in the fourth quarter and outscored Kirkwood 22-13 and ultimately won the game 64-58.
It was a resilient season for the Eagles as they finished their season with a 30-5 record. Their second-place finish adds another accolade of women’s basketball for head coach Kim Muhl, who is the winningest coach in NJCAA history.
This season the Eagles were led in scoring by sophomore guard Olivia Wren (12.1 points per game), freshman forward Erianna Moeschter (9.1 PPG) and sophomore guard Aaliyah Riley (7.9 PPG). The following players led the Eagles in assists; freshman guard Bra’Ja Torry (4.5 assists per game), Riley (3.9 APG) and sophomore guard Kennedy Blakely (2.4 APG). On the glass Kirkwood was led by freshman guard Madison Stowater (4.9 rebounds per game), freshman forward Dasia Foster (4.4 RPG) and Torry (4.3 RPG).
Freshman guard Claire Hudson, sophomore forward Whitney Sullivan, freshman forward Amari Ogleton, freshman guard Molly Roling, freshman forward Olivia Bailey, freshman guard Reagan Celeste, freshman forward Kaci Crum and freshman guard Janessa Mosley all made significant contributions in pursuit of a national runner-up finish.
As a team, the Eagles compiled the second most field goals made in the entire nation with 972 across 35 games played. They averaged 73.7 points per game, 41.9 rebounds per game and 18.8 assists per game.
It is a great accomplishment to even make it to the national championship, so the Eagles finishing second place is a huge honor for the players and also for Kirkwood.
The women’s basketball team looks to add onto their successful season this season onto next year.
Categories: Basketball, Sports
