Former Benton star Jenna Twedt helps keep Kirkwood women’s basketball a national championship contender

When you win eight national junior college championships, you know a thing or two about constructing a roster.

One of the first moves Kirkwood women's basketball coach Kim Muhl made for this season was signing former Benton Community all-stater Jenna Twedt. The 5-foot-8 guard has been a standout, helping lift the Eagles to the national tournament for a record 22nd time.

Kirkwood (31-2) is ranked second in the latest NJCAA Division II poll and grabbed the second seed, behind No. 1 Johnson County (Kan.) in the 20-team field. The tournament begins next Monday at the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center on the campus of Missouri Southern State University in Joplin, Mo.

The Eagles open play on Tuesday at 8 p.m. against the winner of Monday’s preliminary round game between No. 15 Lake Land (Ill.) and No. 18 Jackson (Mich.). The championship game is set for Saturday at 8 p.m.

On a veteran team with four sophomore starters, Twedt was the lone freshman to crack the starting five. She said choosing Kirkwood was an easy decision.

“Kirkwood is so known for having a good program,” Twedt said. “Throughout my recruiting process, Coach Muhl was the only coach who really made me feel like I was wanted.”

Muhl has had many talented players in his 35 years leading the Eagles. Twedt is another on that long list.

She is second on the team in scoring at 14 points a game, shooting just under 38 percent from 3-point range. She saved some of her best performances for the postseason, scoring 24 points in the 75-53 win over North Platte in the district title game last Saturday.

“Jenna is unbelievable,” Muhl said. “She's had a great year. She is a really special player.

“In high school she had to handle the ball, shoot it, rebound it. Now she can concentrate on defending and working to get open for shots because we got the ball out of her hands.”

Being surrounded by talented sophomores Emily Dreckman, Zhakyla Evans, Kaylee Corbin and Demetria Prewitt has allowed Twedt to expand her game.

“It's nice having so many other dominant players on the floor,” Twedt said. “It makes me feel much less stressed. Coming here and not having the pressure of being the point guard allows me to be a little more free to expand my game.”

Muhl knew Twedt would be a big addition, but he admits she has surpassed his expectations.

“We knew she would be good, we really did,” he said. “I'd say she's even better than I thought. I didn't know she would shoot it this well.

“You didn't see it as much in high school because she was handling it all the time. She also guards the other team's toughest kid on the perimeter. She's been great in every phase.”

This year's national tournament has expanded to 20 teams, allowing for four at-large teams to make the field. Conference rival Iowa Western also has qualified, something that could not have happened in prior years.

“They changed the regions, which allowed the opportunity for two teams from Iowa to make the tournament,” Muhl said. “We had one year where NIACC and us were 1-2 and we lost in the regional final and didn't make it.”

Kirkwood finished third at last year's tournament. Twedt believes this year's team has all the ingredients to bring a ninth national title back to Cedar Rapids.

“If we keep playing the way we are playing, I think we are a very hard team to guard,” she said. “This team is very well rounded. We have a lot of diverse players and we can win in many different ways.”