Tuesday March 12th Local Sports

MASON CITY – The NIACC women’s basketball team landed three players on the all-Region XI first team.

NIACC’s Mandy Willems, Jada Buford and Autam Mendez all earned first-team all-region honors. Also for the Lady Trojans, Tahya Campbell was a second-team selection and Kelcie Hale was a third-team pick.

Willems, who was the Region XI tournament MVP, was selected as the league’s player of the year. NIACC’s Todd Ciochetto was selected as the region’s coach of the year.

It is the second straight season that the Lady Trojans have placed three players on the first-team all-region squad. Last season, Taylor Laabs, Mikayla Homola and UU Longs were first-team picks.

Willems is averaging 24.6 points per game heading into the Division II national tournament. She leads the nation in free throw percentage, sinking 92.8 percent of her attempts. She also leads the nation with 171 3-point goals and ranks second in Division II with 787 points. Willems set an NJCAA single-game for three-point goals in one game with 13. Three times, she scored 45 or more points in a game.

Buford, who was selected to the all-tournament team, averages 19.3 points per game, shooting 43.9 percent from the field. She is ranked ninth in the nation in overall points scored, tallying up 619 in 32 games heading into the national tournament.

Mendez, who was also an all-tournament selection, had eight double-doubles during the course of the 2018-19 season. She averages 16.0 points per game, along with 8.8 rebounds. Mendez leads the team with 273 rebounds.

Campbell averages 12.5 points per game. Campbell is second on the team with 90 assists and third on the squad with 157 rebounds.

Hale averages 8.8 points per game. Hale, who was an all-tournament team selection, is fourth on the team with 68 assists and fifth on the team with 46 steals.

 

 

MASON CITY – For the first time since the 2015-16 season, the NIACC men’s basketball team has landed at least one player on the all-Region XI first team.

Freshmen Deundra Roberson and Quentin Hardrict were both first-team selections for the Trojans, who advanced to the regional tournament title game for the first time since 1995.

Roberson averaged 16.6 points per game and Hardrict averaged 15.5 points per game.

Roberson led the Trojans with 65 3-point goals and 64 steals.

Hardrict led the team with 161 assists, which currently ranks 10th in NJCAA Division II.

Also for the Trojans, freshmen Wendell Matthews and James Harris were both second-team all-region picks.

Matthews averaged 15.0 points per game and led the team with 249 rebounds. Harris averaged 13.2 points per game and was third on the team with 43 three-point goals and 128 rebounds.

NIACC’s Mark Mohl was selected as the region’s coach of the year.

 

 

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Kalani Brown had 17 points and seven rebounds to help No. 1 Baylor defeat No. 13 Iowa State 67-49 in the Big 12 Tournament championship game. Brown, a 6-foot-7 senior center, was named the Most Outstanding Player for the tournament. Baylor won its 10th Big 12 title and ninth in the past 11 years. Alexa Middleton led Iowa State with 18 points while Bridget Carleton, the Big 12 Player of the Year, was held to 13 points on 6-of-16 shooting. Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly said his team will learn a lot from the loss. The Cyclones (25-8) shot just 38 percent from the field. Iowa State tied the game at 37 in the third quarter, but Baylor again responded and led 48-44 heading into the fourth. Fatigue set in for the Cyclones, and Baylor took advantage, outscoring the Cyclones 19-5 in the final quarter.

 

 

DALLAS — Former Newman and NIACC baseball player Bryce Ball has been named the National Player of the Week by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. Ball, a junior at Dallas Baptist University, helped lead the Patriots to a perfect 4-0 mark last week hitting .429 (6-for-14) with four home runs, a team-high nine RBI, and posted a team-best 1.286 slugging percentage.  In a 7-2 win over the Sooners, Ball delivered his first home run of the week, followed by a 4-for-4 performance in the series opener at Oral Roberts that saw him hit three home runs.  For the week, Ball led DBU with 18 total bases, drew five walks, and posted a .550 on-base percentage.

 

 

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Martin Jones made 24 saves to continue his hot streak and lead the San Jose Sharks to a 3-0 victory over the Minnesota Wild. Barclay Goodrow, Tomas Hertl and Logan Couture scored for the Sharks, who won their fifth straight. Devan Dubnyk made 26 saves for the Wild. For Jones, it was his third shutout and 34th win of the season. Twenty-five of those wins have come since the start of December, the best total in the league over that span.

 

 

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Vikings have released right guard Mike Remmers and declined an option on safety Andrew Sendejo’s contract, clearing more than $10 million in space under the salary cap. Remmers moved from tackle to guard last season, his second with the Vikings, but the offensive line continued to be a source of trouble. Sendejo had been the primary starter next to Harrison Smith since 2013, but a groin injury limited him to five games in 2018.