No. 1 Kirkwood women dominate Spartans

Less than three minutes into the game Saturday, the top-ranked Kirkwood women had already raced to a 16-0 lead over a shorthanded Southwestern team.

That set the tone for the Eagles as a total of 13 players scored in a 102-34 rout. Kirkwood improved to 17-0 for the season and 7-0 in ICCAC Division II play. Southwestern (1-16 overall, 0-8 conference) scored in double figures in only one quarter (24-13 Kirkwood advantage in third quarter) after the Eagles held a 51-12 halftime lead.

With only six players available for the game, foul trouble plagued the Panthers against the depth and size of the No. 1 team in the NJCAA Division II rankings. Gabby Dwanyen led the Spartans with 10 points. The Spartans shot just 18.6% from the field, hitting 11 of 59 attempts (4-22 on 3-pointers).

Jenna Twedt made six of her team’s 12 3-pointers in scoring 18 points for the Eagles, who shot 48.2% from the field. Anita native Eva Steffensen was one of three Kirkwood players scoring 14 points. Sophomore guard Shyla Moore, transfer from Southwestern, contributed two points.

“They are elite at most things,” said Southwestern coach Kori Zarzutzki. “They can shoot it. They can drive. They have more length than any other team in the conference. And, they’re really deep. They have all the pieces. There’s a reason they’re number one.”

Three Spartan starters, including season scoring leaders Brooklyn Hadl and Dwanyen, accumulated four fouls with only one reserve on the bench. The margin continued to swell in the second half from 50 points (62-12) early in the third period to 60 points (88-28) midway through the fourth quarter.

“They have a lot of depth and we played with six,” Zarzutzki said. “We had three players with four fouls at the end. That (21-3) second quarter just buried us, but we played better after halftime and got better looks. We’ll be back to nine players for our next game.”

The Spartans host North Central (Missouri) College at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.

SOUTHWESTERN (34) — Totals — (FG FT PTS) 11 8-12 34. Gabby Dwanyen 3 4-8 10, Brooklyn Hadl 2 3-3 8, McKenna Wiechman 2 0-0 6, Olivia Heartwell 2 0-0 5, Bhella Lavulavu 1 1-1 3, Dalanie Auffert 1 0-0 2. FG shooting — 11-59 (18.6 percent). 3-point goals (4-22) — Wiechman 2, Hadl 1, Heartwell 1. Rebounds — 20 (Dwanyen 6, Lavulavu 5, Hadl 4). Assists — 5 (Dwanyen 2). Steals — 8 (Hadl 4). Blocked shots — 6 (Lavulavu 2, Heartwell 2). Turnovers — 24. Team fouls — 15. Fouled out — None.

KIRKWOOD — (102) — Totals — (FG FT PTS) 40 10-13 102. Jenna Twedt 6 0-0 18, Eva Steffensen 6 2-2 14, Sam Veto 6 0-0 14, Kaliyah Sain 4 5-7 14, Lizzy Puot 5 0-1 11, Kennedy Blakely 3 0-0 6, Olivia Wren 2 0-0 5, Ellah Kissell 2 0-0 5, Chudear Mach 2 0-0 4, Kora Alesch 0 3-3 3, Briana Martin 1 0-0 2, Shyla Moore 1 0-0 2, Ella Pritchard 1 0-0 2. 3-point goals (12-32) — Twedt 6, Veto 2, Sain 1, Puot 1. Kissell 1, Wren 1. Team fouls — 8. Fouled out — None.