Eagles flying high again

In his quarter of a century on the sidelines, Kim Muhl has built Kirkwood women's basketball into one of the top junior college programs in the country.

Muhl is the winningest active coach at the NJCAA Division II level with 745 wins in his 26th season and he has guided the Eagles to six national championships.

Even though the Eagles limped out to an uncharacteristic 4-4 start to this season, Muhl knew it was no time to panic.

'We weren't very good early and our schedule was fairly difficult,” he said.

All four losses were to teams ranked in either the NJCAA Division I or II polls.

'Maybe they thought there was too much pressure to win to start the season,” Muhl said of his team. 'We went 25-7 last year and maybe they thought they had to start up where they left off.

'For me, it's not how you start the season but how you end it that is most important.”

The Eagles (11-4) ended the pre-Christmas portion of their schedule on a seven-game winning streak and take a No. 6 national ranking into tonight's game at Marshalltown.

Kirkwood is doing it with a balanced scoring attack, led by sophomore Kirsten Larson, the only Eagle averaging in double figures at 11.4 points per game. Still, Kirkwood is averaging 71.7 points per game on offense.

'We're doing it by committee,” Muhl said. 'I think we have five players that are capable of scoring 20 points.”

The Eagles may have to crank up that offense on Saturday when they travel to Mason City to take on second-ranked NIACC (10-3). The Trojans are averaging 82.9 points per game and have cracked the 90-point barrier five times.

'They will shoot a lot of 3s and put on a lot of pressure, and they are extremely quick,” Muhl said of NIACC. 'They can be very streaky and they shoot well at home.”

It is the conference opener for both teams and could be a vital game when it comes down to seeding the regional tournament at the end of the season. For the first time in several years, the team that has the highest seed will have home court advantage in the tournament.

'Our expectations are that the conference will be a dogfight,” Muhl said. 'I think it's possible for us to win the regional tournament and from there go on to the nationals.

'Our regional winner has traditionally done well at the national tournament. I think if we can get there, we have a chance to do some things.”

PROLIFIC PIONEERS

Jack Taylor, who set the all-time single-game scoring record for a collegiate player with 138 points two seasons ago, is lighting up scoreboards again in his senior season at Grinnell.

Taylor is the leading scorer in NCAA Division III with a 30.6 average and has a high game of 52 points. He broke the 100-point barrier in a game each of the previous two seasons. He scored 109 in a game a year ago.

Taylor is not the only Pioneer racking up points. Teammate Luke Yeager is fourth in the nation in scoring with a 25.3 average.

Grinnell (5-6, 3-3 Midwest Conference) leads the nation in scoring at a 118.1 clip. The Pioneers, who host Ripon on Saturday, have scored more than 130 points in four games.

HOMETOWN HEROES LEAD NORSE

The Luther women were off to a 10-1 start to their season heading into tonight's Iowa Conference opener at Wartburg, and a pair of former Decorah preps were sparking the Norse.

Junior Moran Lonning led the team in scoring with a 13.5 average and sophomore Anna Madrigal was fourth with a 10.0 average. The Norse had four scorers averaging double figures.

Luther needed one more win to match its victory total of a year ago, when the Norse finished last in the Iowa Conference.

The Norse have not won a conference title since the 2006-07 season. They have not had a winning season since going 15-10 in 2007-08.