No surprises here

Coe's 7-2 start in the Iowa Conference men's basketball race may be surprising to some, especially in light of its 6-5 non-conference mark.

But don't count Kohawk Coach Bryan Martin among that group.

'You have to look at the strength of our schedule, which was by far the best in our league,” said Martin, whose Kohawks are 13-7 overall after Wednesday's 86-70 league loss at Wartburg. 'Two of our losses were to the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in (NCAA) Division III, and our guys gained confidence from those losses because we were in it until the last minute in both of those games.”

The Kohawks suffered a 10-point loss to Washington University of St. Louis when it was ranked No. 1, and fell by five to Augustana, Ill., when it was ranked second.

'One of our other losses was to Mount Mercy, which is having an unbelievable year,” Martin added. The Mustangs are ranked 11th in NAIA Division II and riding 13-game winning streak after Wednesday's overtime win against Clarke.

'I think our non-conference, even though it wasn't as shiny of a record as maybe some other teams in our league, it definitely gave us confidence and got us ready for these conference battles,” Martin said.

Balanced scoring has been a key. Senior J.T. Vonderhaar leads the Kohawks with a 14.3 average, but six Kohawks are averaging 7.5 points or more. Junior Christian Fahey, who averages 7.5, had 19 in a win over Luther last Saturday.

'That's why we're in the position we're in,” Martin said. 'I think our guys have a high level of trust in each other and that it doesn't take one guy.

'J.T. is our leader. He's our best scorer. But he'd be the first one to tell you, there are no superstars on this team. It's just guys playing with great chemistry, so far, and having a lot of fun.”

EARLY ARRIVALS

The Coe women may be a year or two ahead of schedule under the tutelage of ninth-year coach Randi Henderson.

Coe has only one senior (Megan Hayes) and one junior (Allie Wirth) on its roster, yet the Kohawks (13-7, 6-3) are tried for second place in the Iowa Conference after Wednesday's loss at Wartburg.

'It's not about winning and losing for us right now, it's about finding our identity,” Henderson said after Saturday's 73-62 win over Luther (16-4, 6-3).

Joining Hayes and Wirth in the starting lineup are freshmen Aleena Hobbs and Jenna Lehman, and a sharp-shooting sophomore Mickey Hansche. Top reserves are sophomores Courteney McCrary, Ashley Stulken and Logan Lynch, and freshman Jordan Holmes.

It is a strong corridor contingent. Hobbs prepped at Cedar Rapids Washington, McCrary at Prairie, Stulken at Xavier, Holmes at Kennedy, Lehman at Iowa City Regina and Hansche at Iowa City High.

Hobbs leads the team in scoring and rebounding with averages of 13.8 and 6.2, respectively. Hansche averages 12.7 points and is shooting 45.1 percent from 3-point range.

Hayes, from Bettendorf, averages 11.2 points and 5.1 rebounds. She recently become Coe's all-time blocked shot leader with more than 150 in her four-year career. She also has scored more than 1,000 career points.

IN THE PAINT

Kirkwood sophomores Joseph Tagarelli and Kirsten Larson were the ICCAC men's and women's players of the week last week ... The Kirkwood women moved up a spot to No. 3 in the NJCAA Division II poll released Wednesday ... A one-point home loss to DMACC dropped the Kirkwood men four spots to No. 11 in this week's NJCAA Division II poll. DMACC moved up three notches to No. 5.