March 21, 2025
Kirkwood Takes Down Mesa for Spot in the Final Four
Joplin, MO-
Kirkwood 74
Mesa 59
Top seeded Kirkwood advanced to the semi-finals of the NJCAA DII National Tournament with a 74-59 victory over 9-seed Mesa on Thursday evening in Joplin, MO.
The Eagles withstood Mesa's hot shooting from three point range early in the game, as the Thunderbirds knocked down four of their first five three pointers to take an early 15-11 lead midway through the first quarter.
Kirkwood (33-0) answered with an 11-1 run to close the opening quarter and take a 22-16 lead.
The Eagles defense stiffened up in the second quarter as they outscored Mesa 16-7 in the quarter to take a 38-23 lead at halftime.
Kirkwood took their largest lead at 43-23 on a three pointer by sophomore Lizzy Puot early in the third quarter.
The Eagles 54-36 after three quarters and battled for the entire forty minutes for the 15 point victory.
Sophomore Jenna Twedt led the Eagles in scoring with a game high 24 points.
Sophomore Kaliyah Sain added 19 points and four assists, while Puot was the third Eagle in double figures with 12 points.
Sophomore Ella Pritchard led the Eagles with 12 rebounds.
Kirkwood will now face 4-seed Johnson County in a rematch of last year's national championship game at 6:00 pm on Friday evening.
Link to Box Score:
