The top-ranked Kirkwood women's basketball team has Iowa Central's number, and they did more than enough to prove that against cold shooting Iowa Central inside Hodges Fieldhouse.
Kirkwood (21-1 overall, 10-0 ICCAC) played fundamental basketball with defensive pressure and offensive execution as the Eagles defeated Iowa Central by a score of 76-41.
"We were not ready for this type of game," said Iowa Central head coach Craig Carlson. "Their intensity level was obviously a lot higher than ours and they played a great game."
The Tritons started the contest with cold shooting, falling to a 9-0 deficit early by misses on their first six field goal attempts.
The hard-nosed Kirkwood defense kept the Triton offense from finding a rhythm for the first half. Iowa Central was held to just 3 of 21 shooting in the first half as Kirkwood took a commanding 34-11 lead at halftime.
"We couldn't hit anything early on," said Carlson. "And any time you are playing a team of this caliber it can get contagious."
The Tritons picked up the slack on the offensive side in the second half, but Kirkwood was able to maintain a comfortable lead throughout the game.
The Eagles only had two players reach double-digits, but received scoring from 11 players in a balanced offensive attack. Kirkwood shot nearly 50 percent from the floor on the night.
The Tritons went on a 7-0 run in the beginning of the second half by making three of their first four shots. However, Iowa Central couldn't match Kirkwood's physicality and never made a serious threat to Kirkwood's lead.
"Physically the really manhandled us. On top of that, you can't beat anybody with the way we shot most of the game," said Carlson. "Give credit to Kirkwood though. Their defense was incredible and they played stronger than us."
Iowa Central was led in scoring by Jessica Christensen and Abby Brend's nine point performances. Chirstensen and Brend combined to make 5 of 5 field goals in the second half.
Alicia Wright led all scorers with 18 points. McKensey Long chipped in 11 points for the Eagles as well."
"This will be tough to rebound from and we have to play another talented team Saturday," said Carlson. "We have good character on our team, so we are capable of bouncing back from this."
Iowa Central's next game will tip off Saturday at Iowa Lakes at 2 p.m.
Contact Brady Johnson at (515) 573-2141 or by e-mail at sports@messengernews.net
