January 9, 2019

No. 10 KCC women knock off DMACC

Thursday, 10 January 2019 05:56 Jim Ecker

When the Kirkwood women's basketball team is good, the Eagles are very, very good with unselfish passes, good shooting and a willingness to listen to Coach Kim Muhl.

When the Eagles struggle ... well, here's what Muhl had to say about that Wednesday night.

"They've got to learn to be coached and quit being babies and grow up," he remarked. "You can put that in the paper."

The 10th-ranked Eagles were very, very good in the third quarter and rode a 30-point outburst in that stanza to a 66-37 victory over DMACC in an ICCAC conference game at Johnson Hall.

Kirkwood scored only 22 points in the first and led 22-17 at intermission. Muhl ripped into his players at halftime and they came out with a vengeance.

What did Muhl tell them?

"Quit fighting me on what needs to be done on a daily basis," he revealed. "It's not 'cool' just to be on the floor. You've got to become nasty and dirty and play harder. And execute.

"We executed in the second half. Wide-open looks. Good shots."

The Eagles (13-5, 3-0) pummeled the Bears 30-13 in the third quarter to grab a commanding 52-30 bulge entering the final stanza. Kirkwood enjoyed a 33-point lead at 66-33 when Ju Gaston hit her fourth 3-pointer with 2:29 remaining.

Leah Robinson of Kirkwood shows good form on a jump shot during Wednesday night's game against DMACC at Johnson Hall. (MSR photo by Margaret O'Banion)

The Eagles have been riding a roller-coaster much of the season, although they've won 12 of their last 14 games after getting off to a 1-3 start to the campaign. There have been good stretches, followed by bad spells on the court.

"It's been like that all year," said Muhl. "They're an immature group. They're trying to grow up. They have to compete.

"When they don't want to compete and be lazy and not guard and not run down the court, they're going to get beat.

"They have to figure it out," he concluded. "They won't win an argument with me."

Gaston made all four of her 3-pointers and scored 14 points. Ashley Tull shot 7 for 19 from the field and also netted 14. Mackenzie Jenkins added 10 points for the Eagles.

Aliyah Robinson scored 14 points for DMACC (6-9, 1-2).

DMACC (37): Mena 3 1-2 8, Robinson 6 0-0 14, Stalzer 2 0-0 5, Rouse 0 0-0 0, Horn 0 2-2 2, Jackson 1 0-0 2, Evans 0 0-0 0, Abernathy 0 0-0 0, McKinney 2 1-1 6, Brewster 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 4-5 37.

KIRKWOOD (66): Jenkins 4 0-0 10, Gaston 5 0-0 14, Hurst 1 0-0 2, Mullinnix 2 0-0 6, Tull 7 0-0 14, Bradford 2 0-0 4, Lipsey 0 0-0 0, Kennedy 1 0-0 2, Myers 1 1-1 4, Tomaszewski 0 0-0 0, Robinson 3 2-2 8, Mensen 1 0-0 2. Totals 27 3-3 66.

Halftime - Kirkwood 22, DMACC 17. 3-point goals - DMACC 5 (Robinson 2, Mena 1, Stalzer 1, McKinney 1), Kirkwood 9 (Gaston 4, Jenkins 2, Mullinnix 2, Myers 1).