High School Basketball
The Mt. Pleasant girls’ team had a terrific night both offensively and defensively against Danville to come out on top 65-30. Andrea Lopreato had a monster game, finishing one steal short of a triple-double with 25 points, 15 rebounds, and 9 steals. Tristan Shull finished with 19 points adding 7 boards and 6 assists to the winning effort. On the night, nine Panthers scored and totaled 15 steals as a team. After starting the season 0-4, the Panthers are now 8-7 and Coach Watson credits his team for putting the pressure on opposing teams. Danville falls to 6-9 on the season. Mt. Pleasant will play conference foe, Washington, on Friday, January 20th, at 7:30 pm at home.
The Mt. Pleasant boys’ team will play Oskaloosa at home today, January 17th, at 7:30 pm.
WACO will be hosting a big conference matchup tonight against Winfield-Mt. Union with the girls going at 6 pm. The Wolves girls’ team is currently ranked 10th in Class 1A.
The Holy Trinity Catholic Crusaders will face off against Mediapolis tonight with the girls going at 6 pm followed by the boys.
Central Lee will play Burlington Notre Dame tonight with the girls going at 6 pm.
New London will host Danville tonight here on KILJ with both games being covered with pregame at 5:45 pm.
The Iowa High School Athletic Association released their rankings for high school boys’ basketball yesterday. Waukee Northwest in Class 4A and Xavier in Class 3A both lost their top spots. Cedar Rapids Kennedy is now the top team in class 4A and Bondurant-Farrar is atop the rankings in Class 3A. Class 2A is ruled by Central Lyon with West Burlington ranked 5th. WACO moved one spot up the rankings to 3rd in Class 1A as Grand View Christian still ranks 1st.
High School Wrestling
The Mt. Pleasant boys’ team’s next match is January 19th against Fairfield.
High School Bowling
Mt. Pleasant will host Fairfield Thursday, January 19th.
Iowa Wesleyan Athletics
The women’s basketball team will look to get back in the win column Friday, January 20th, against Haskell Indian Nations at home at 5:30 pm.
The 25th ranked men’s team will play Haskell Indian Nations at the conclusion of the women’s game on Friday. KILJ will be on the call for both games with the pregame show at 5:15 pm.
The men’s wrestling team will be at home Thursday as they go against Cornell College at 6 pm.
The women’s wrestling team will be back in action tomorrow, January 18th, against Iowa Central Community College at home.
The Tigers next indoor meet will be Saturday,January 21st, at the Hilltop Invitational.
This Day in Sports History
1970 – Sporting News names Willie Mays as Player of the Decade for the 1960s.
1988 – AFC Championship, Mile High Stadium, Denver: Denver Broncos beat Cleveland Browns, 38-33; features infamous “The Fumble”, Browns’ Earnest Byner fumbles at the Denver 3-yard line with 1:12 remaining resulting in the loss.
2012 – LeBron James becomes youngest player in NBA history to record 20,000 career points during the Miami Heat’s 92-75 victory over Golden State; James, 28 years, 17 days old, passed Kobe Bryant, 29 years, 122 days old.