December 28, 2023
#1 Kirkwood Takes Down Joliet at Holiday Tournament
It took about a quarter and a half for Kirkwood to shake off the rust offensively, but once they finally did the floodgates opened as the Eagles defeated Joliet 83-41 Thursday afternoon at the 42nd Annual Cougar Holiday Tournament at Illinois Central College in Peoria, IL.
Kirkwood (13-0 / 5-0 ICCAC), who returned to action for the first time in 12 days, struggled offensively early in the game as they missed some easy layups, which allowed Joliet to stay within reach.
Leading 25-23 with 5:17 left in the second quarter, the Eagles would put together a run extending into the third quarter.
The Eagles closed the half on a 17-4 run to take a 42-27 lead at halftime.
Kirkwood's run continued into the third quarter, as they used a 16-1 run over the first 5:23 to stretch their lead to 62-28.
The Eagles put together a 33-5 run over that span to blow the game open.
Sophomore Demetria Prewitt scored 11 of her 13 points in the third quarter portion of the run.
Sophomore Emily Dreckman led the Eagles in scoring with a game-high 18 points.
Freshman Jenna Twedt & sophomore Kaylee Corbin also finished in double figures with 11 & 10 points respectively.
Corbin led Kirkwood with a game-high 8 rebounds.
Sophomore Zhakyla Evans dished out a career-high 9 assists in the victory.
Kirkwood will take on #9 Lake Land in the semifinals tomorrow afternoon at 2:00 pm.
