March 4, 2025
#1 Kirkwood Wins Region 11-A Tournament
Cedar Rapids, IA-
Kirkwood 69
Northeast 36
It is a motto that Kirkwood women's basketball players hear from the first day they step on campus "Defend & Rebound" and the Eagles did just that on Monday night as they claimed the Region 11-A championship with a 69-36 victory over Northeast.
Kirkwood (30-0) led 10-8 midway through the first quarter then came one of their pattened runs, as they would close the half on a 29-5 run to take a 39-13 lead into the locker room at half.
The Eagles' defense stiffened up in the second quarter as they held the Hawks to just 2 points.
Northeast used an 11-3 run to start the third quarter to get within 42-24, but that would be as close as they would get as Kirkwood led 55-31 heading into the fourth quarter.
Four Eagles finished in double figures led by sophomore Kaliyah Sain, who scored a game high 15 points.
Sophomore Jenna Twedt finished with 12 and became just the seventh Kirkwood player to surpass the 1,000 career point mark in the victory.
Sophomores Ellah Pritchard and Lizzy Puot both added 11 points apiece.
Puot grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds and recorded her fifth straight double-double.
The Eagles owned the boards, outrebounding Northeast 44-24 and outscored them 38-16 in the paint.
Sain, Twedt, and Puot were named to the Region 11-A All-Tournament team, with Puot earning MVP honors.
Kirkwood will now host United Tribes Technical College, winner of the Region 13 championship, on Saturday at 1:00 pm with the winner advancing to the NJCAA DII National Tournament.
Link to Box Score:
