Coe routs Luther 78-49 in ARC matchup

CEDAR RAPIDS — This Coe women’s basketball team is built on belief.

When the Kohawks lost junior guard/forward Taylor Brunson – the reigning conference player of the year and a d3hoops.com preseason all-American – to a preseason knee injury, they opted to rally instead of sulk.

The results have been impressive.

“That was a bummer … but I’ve been incredibly proud of our team,” Coe Coach Kayla Waskow said after the Kohawks routed Luther, 78-49, in an American Rivers Conference game Wednesday at Kohawk Arena. “It is a team for a reason. We’ve just had players, different people, step up at different times and different nights. … We have enough belief in our group that at some point, we are going to figure it out.”

Coe (11-3, 5-0 ARC) remains the only undefeated team in conference games and the quality of play without Brunson – a Linn-Mar graduate who set the single-season school record last season with 550 points – has been stunning. Against Luther, senior point guard Caydee Kirkham was the one fueling the Kohawks’ offense with a spectacular triple-double (25 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists).

“We just really work together and we’re a very unselfish team,” said Kirkham, a four-year starter.

Former East Buchanan prep Averiel Brady has replaced Brunson in the Coe starting lineup, while sophomore forward and Edgewood-Colesburg alum Audrie Helmrichs has boosted her offensive production to 15.5 points per game, which ranks second on the team behind Kirkham (17.3).

"They've done a great job collectively," Waskow said. "We're never going to just replace Taylor, but we can do it in different ways. I think you have seen that from our group so far."

Junior guard Taryn Kravig chipped in 15 points for Coe, which will attempt to keep its unblemished conference record intact when it visits Simpson Saturday night.

"Show up for every game, show up for every practice," Kirkham said. "We can't take a practice off, take a game off. We have to show and still compete because we're getting everyone's best shot.".

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Coe men cap the sweep

In the Wednesday nightcap, the Coe men won for the fourth time in five games by outlasting Luther, 77-70, in an American Rivers Conference game at Kohawk Arena.

The Kohawks (10-4, 2-3 ARC) held the Norse to just 19 first-half points and used a 10-2 surge late in the second half to turn a four-point game into a double-digit advantage at 63-51 with 2:48 to go.

Senior guard Cooper Nailor led the Kohawks 18 points and five assists, while former Cedar Rapids Kennedy prep Jackson Bowman added 15 points. Western Dubuque graduate Kanyon Bryte registered 13 points and eight rebounds.

The Kohawks visit Simpson Saturday.

Luther is now 5-8, 0-4.

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