High School Track and Field
Mt. Pleasant boys’ team will compete at Central College on Friday, March 15th, while the girls’ team will run on Saturday, March 16th.
The WACO boys’ and girls’ teams will travel to Central College on Thursday, March 14th, to start their season.
The Winfield-Mt. Union and New London boys’ teams will travel to Danville on March 18th to get the season rolling.
The New London girls’ team will travel to Columbus for their first meet of the year on March 18th.
High School Soccer
The WACO boys’ team will open the season on March 28th against Fairfield on the road at 5 pm.
The Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union boys’ and girls’ teams will take on West Liberty on March 25th at home with the girls’ game scheduled first at 5 pm.
The Mt. Pleasant girls’ will host Mediapolis on March 26th to start their season at 4:30 pm, while the boys’ will travel to Danville to play at 5 pm on the same day.
The Danville girls’ team will face off against Assumption on March 25th on the road at 5 pm.
College Basketball
The #3 Iowa women’s team claimed the Big Ten championship over the weekend for the third consecutive season with a dominating 95-68 win over Michigan in the semifinals and a narrow 94-89 victory over Nebraska in an overtime thriller. Against the Wolverines the offense was unstoppable as four Hawkeyes finished in double figures. Caitlin Clark led the way with a double-double, collecting 28 points and 15 assists as she shot over 50% from the field.
The Big Ten Championship match saw the Hawkeyes erase an 11 point deficit in the third quarter with an even stretch in the fourth quarter making way for an overtime period. Nebraska held a one-point lead with less than a minute to go before Iowa scored five quick points off a three and two free throws from Clark after a steal by the senior. Clark tallied another double-double with 34 points and 12 assists as Hannah Stuelke added 25 points. The Hawkeyes will wait for Selection Sunday on March 17th to find out their seeding for the women’s national championship.
The Iowa State women’s team punched their ticket to the Big 12 semifinals after defeating Baylor over the weekend 67-62. Addy Brown finished with a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds as Audi Crooks scored a game high 23 points. The Cyclones will face off against #19 Oklahoma today with the winner advancing to the Big 12 championship game.
The #6 Iowa State men’s team ended the regular season on a loss after falling to Kansas State 65-58 over the weekend. Curtis Jones led the scoring with 16 points off the bench. The Cyclones will compete against either Texas or Kansas State on Thursday at 6 pm in the Big 12 tournament.
The Iowa men’s team had their senior night spoiled by #12 Illinois over the weekend 73-61. Payton Sandfort led the scoring for the Hawkeyes with 23 points as he drilled five three-pointers. Iowa grabbed the 7th seed in the Big Ten tournament and will take on the #10-seed Ohio State on Thursday, March 14th, at 5:30 pm.
March Madness
The NCAA men’s basketball season is winding down as teams are battling for position and the opportunity to be crowned National Champion in this year’s March Madness bracket.
KILJ, with the help of The Press Box and Wiley’s Interior Furnishings and Design will be hosting another bracket challenge, but things will be done a little differently this year. March 17th marks Selection Sunday with the brackets being released after 5 pm central time.
A printable bracket will be posted to KILJ’s Facebook page after Selection Sunday for you to fill out. You can either bring your bracket out to our station or email it to sports@kilj.com. The four play-in games will not count towards your final score. Brackets are due by the end of the day March 20th.
For a full list of rules and prizes follow this link: KILJ Bracket Challenge
This Day in Sports History
1912 – First Stanley Cup challenge game to be played in three 20-minute periods (formerly 30-minute halves), Quebec beats Moncton, 9-3 on way to series sweep.
1986 – New York Islanders Mike Bossy is the first NHL player to score 50 goals in nine straight seasons.
1991 – Monica Seles ends Steffi Graf’s streak of 186 weeks ranked as the #1 women’s tennis player.