High School Basketball
The WACO girls’ team has been eliminated from the playoffs after falling to Burlington Notre Dame 57-41 in the quarterfinals last night. The Warriors kept it close early as the game was tied at 14 at one point; however, the Nikes controlled the game from that point on as they dominated the offensive boards and were lethal from beyond the arc. Lauren Krieger hit five three-pointers and led the Nikes with 19 points in the winning effort. Ellah Kissell supplied the Warriors with 13 points. Coach Graber talked about the team’s effort for the season after finishing 18-5. Burlington Notre Dame will face off against Winfield-Mt. Union on February 17th at 7 pm. KILJ will be covering the game with pregame at 6:45 pm. The boys’ team will face off against New London at home tomorrow, February 16th, at 7 pm. KILJ, 1130 AM and 98.5 FM, will be covering the game with pregame at 6:50 pm.
The Mt. Pleasant boys’ team have now lost two games in a row in overtime as Pella came out on top 63-57 last night. Without the aid of Payton Hagans, who is still nursing an ankle injury suffered against Fairfield, the Panthers led by Aaiden Ashton’s 30 point night had the lead late but with half-a-second left in the game Pella nailed both free-throws to force overtime, where the Dutch had all the momentum. The Panthers will start their postseason action February 20th at home against Fort Madison at 7 pm. The girls’ team will travel to play Fort Madison tonight for their first game of the regional. KILJ will be covering the game with pregame at 6:45 pm and tip-off scheduled for 7 pm.
The Holy Trinity Catholic girls’ team gave Winfield-Mt. Union everything they had but came up just short as the Wolves moved on to play Burlington Notre Dame after winning 56-42. The Crusaders end the year with a 13-9 record.
The Danville girls’ team won a thriller against West Burlington 56-54 in upset fashion. The Bears will travel to battle with Mediapolis on February 17th at 7 pm.
The Winfield-Mt. Union boys’ team will play tomorrow against Burlington Notre Dame at 7 pm. KILJ will be covering the game with pregame at 6:45 pm.
High School Wrestling
Southeast Iowa will be well represented at the state meet starting today, February 15th, and running through the 18th, as Burlington Notre Dame looks to repeat at the Class 2A state champions with six wrestlers heading to Des Moines. Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union will be sending five wrestlers, New London will be taking four, and WACO will have three representatives. For Class 3A, Fort Madison will have seven wrestlers with Burlington and Ottumwa supplying two each. KILJ will be announcing results through the four days of competition.
High School Bowling
The boys’ had their state qualifying meet yesterday with two members of Keokuk earning a chance to bowl at state with Pray Lawson and Chase Hemann qualifying. The state championship will start February 20th and run through the 22nd.
Iowa Wesleyan Athletics
The women’s basketball team got off to a slow start last night but after outscoring Baptist Bible College 26 to 8 in the second quarter, the Tigers ran off with their 19th win of the season, 81-50. Kyla Moore led the way in scoring as she hit three three-pointers and nailed ten free throws to finish with 25 points on the night. The Tigers next game will be February 18th when they square off with Trinity Christian College at 1 pm on the road.
The 23rd-ranked men’s team breezed past Baptist Bible College 88-59 in the second game of a Valentine doubleheader. The Tigers had two twenty-point scorers last night with Henry Shannon putting up 21 points with two blocks and Joey Brown IV finished with a double-double scoring 20 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. The Tigers will enter the Continental Athletic Conference tournament as 2nd overall seed on February 24th with a 24-2 record.
The men’s wrestling team’s next competition for the Tigers will be the 2023 Heart of America Conference Championship on February 18th.
The women’s wrestling team will be back in action tonight, February 15th, against Iowa Central Community College at 6 pm.
The Tigers Indoor Track and Field teams will be competing in the North Star Athletic Association conference meet on February 19th.
The Tiger baseball team will have a doubleheader on February 17th against Mid America Christian with game one at 1 pm.
The Tiger’s softball season will begin on February 18th against Park University at 11 am for the Avila Tournament.
This Day in Sports History
1973 – Friendsville Academy (Tenn) ends 138-game basketball losing streak.
1987 – 1982 Masters champion Craig Stadler is disqualified from Andy Williams Open for kneeling on a towel to make a shot.
2000 – Martin Brodeur becomes first goaltender in NHL history to get credit for a “game winning” goal as New Jersey wins, 4-2 over the visiting Philadelphia Flyers.