KJAN Sports Director Chris Parks talks Atlantic winter sports. Head Boys Basketball Coach Jeff Ebling joins the show this morning.

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CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The UNI women’s basketball jumped opened and closed the game on big runs and picked up a 76-60 Missouri Valley Conference win over Evansville to move to 10-5 on the season and 2-2 in MVC play.

The Panthers opened the game on a 19-2 run and closed the game with a 17-2 streak, in between those two runs, it was back and forth battle.

UNI started the game shooting 5-6 from the three-point line, including three makes in a row from Nicole Kroeger to jump out to the big lead. Evansville cut the advantage to 21-8 at the quarter and 35-27 at the half.

The Panthers outscored Evansville 21-20 in the third quarter, but the Aces rallied in the fourth quarter to cut the lead to 59-58 with 6:30 remaining in the game. The rest of the game was all Panthers and mostly Karli Rucker. She scored 15 of her 28 points in the final 6:06 of the game and UNI pulled away for the 16-point win.

Rucker tied her career high with 28 points. Nicole Kroeger added 14 and Kristina Cavey scored 10 and grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds. Cynthia Wolf had seven rebounds and a career-high seven assists in the win.

Luka Garza scored 33 points and four Iowa players scored in double figures as the Hawkeyes beat No. 19 Michigan 90-83. CJ Fredrick had 21 points, Joe Wieskamp 20, and Ryan Kriener came off the bench to score 14 for the Hawkeyes. Eli Brooks broke out of a shooting slump to lead Michigan with 25 points.

Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Luka Garza scored 33 points and four Iowa players scored in double figures as the Hawkeyes beat No. 19 Michigan 90-83. CJ Fredrick had 21 points, Joe Wieskamp 20, and Ryan Kriener came off the bench to score 14 for the Hawkeyes. Eli Brooks broke out of a shooting slump to lead Michigan with 25 points.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs will host the Tennessee Titans in the AFC championship game. For Chiefs coach Andy Reid it’s one more opportunity to return to the Super Bowl. That’s something he’s accomplished only once in his long career. For Titans counterpart Mike Vrabel it’s an opportunity to make it back as a coach after winning three Lombardi Trophies as a player in New England. The game features the power running of the Titans’ Derrick Henry and the aerial assault of the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes in an intriguing matchup for a spot in Miami.

UNDATED (AP) — Of the coaches in the NFL’s Final Four, Andy Reid is the outlier. Only Kansas City’s coach has been the head man in a Super Bowl. Only Reid is close to having a Hall of Fame-worthy resume. Only Reid has been around for a couple of decades. So while Tennessee’s Mike Vrabel, Green Bay’s Matt LaFleur and San Francisco’s Kyle Shanahan might look up to Reid and his career achievements, they also recognize that whichever of them wins the NFL title will be doing so for the first time as a coach.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has been among the best bargains in professional sports, leading his team to back-to-back AFC title games on his rookie contract. He’s largely flown under the radar this season, too, thanks to a series of injuries and the ascendance of Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson. But with the end of the season drawing near, all that is about to change. Mahomes is lining himself up for a payday unlike anything the NFL has ever seen.

UNDATED (AP) — Pro Picks is surprised. Consider that the NFC title game is a matchup of the conferences’s top two seeds. The spread favors host San Francisco over Green Bay by 7 1-2 points. In the AFC, it’s the sixth-seeded Titans at No. 2 seed Kansas City, which would seem to be more of a mismatch. Yet the spread is also 7 1-2.

UNDATED (AP) — Sunday’s game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Tennessee Titans is the first AFC championship since 2002 that doesn’t feature Tom Brady or Peyton Manning or Ben Roethlisberger. Brady and the New England Patriots are missing from the conference championship weekend for the first time since 2010. Brady has been to 13 AFC title games and won nine of them. John Elway’s Denver Broncos defeated the Cleveland Browns in two of the most famous AFC title game showdowns and the Cincinnati Bengals beat the San Diego Chargers in 1982 in minus-59 degrees wind chill that left Dan Fouts with icicles hanging from his beard.

CARBONDALE, Ill. (AP) — Gabby Walker took a bounce pass at the baseline and, as the clock was winding down, put up a left-handed layup and Southern Illinois shocked No. 19 Missouri State women 70-68. The loss ended Missouri State’s five-game win streak, and also ended the Bears’ 13-game Missouri Valley Conference road winning streak, a school record. Kristen Nelson led the Salukis with 14 points and three steals. Alexa Willard scored 27 points for Missouri State on 11-for-21 shooting but was blanked in four tries from beyond the 3-point arc. The Bears made 1-of-9 from distance and committed 17 turnovers.

In a follow-up to our report earlier this month, with regard to a fund-raising effort for the addition of turf to the Trojan Bowl (in Atlantic), the Atlantic Schools Booster Club and the Facility Improvement Committee (FIC), announced today (Friday), that the Atlantic Bottling Company and the Tyler family, have offered a matching grant of up to $100,000, for renovations to the Trojan Bowl. The matching funds must be raised between now and the end of March, 2020.

Kirk Tyler has said that the Atlantic Bottling Company is excited to partner with the Booster Club and FIC because “Of the critically important role Atlantic’s school system is in attracting new residents and future employees.” For several decades, Atlantic has been home to Atlantic Bottling Company, and they appreciate the support the community has shown them throughout the years. The Booster Club/FIC says the bottling company views the fundraising project as their way to give back to the community.

The 9.5-million dollar bond issue passed last year to make major improvements to Atlantic’s current outdoor athletic facilities did not include the later addition of field turf at the Trojan Bowl. The Booster Club and Facilities Committee  have been working with private donors since that time, to offset the additional cost of field turf. To date, $115,000 has been collected or pledged. Officials say if Atlantic Bottling’s matching grant financial challenge if reach by the end of March, that would generate another $200,000 toward the project.

The Atlantic Schools Booster Club is a 501-3c non-profit organization. A dedicated account allowing persons to make tax-free donations toward the project, has been established at Rolling Hills Bank and Trust. Donations of any amount are welcome from individuals and businesses. Make checks payable to: Atlantic Schools Booster Club, and send to the Rolling Hills Bank and Trust, Attn.: Emily Freund, 1307 E. 7th Street, Atlantic, IA 50022.

As previously mentioned, there are five Booster Club donation recognition levels for a plaque at the Trojan Bowl: “Players” at $300-$999; Those who contribute $1,000 to $2,499 are at the “Black: level; The “Gold” level is for funds from $5,000 to $9,999; “Letter Winner” is $10,000 to $49,999; and, “Trojan Head” level donation recognition is for those donations of $50,000 and above. Scoreboard advertising panels are also available on a first-come, first-served basis, for area businesses. Contact Andy Mitchell, Asst. Principal/Athletic Director, at 712-243-5364, for more details.

Iowa Girls High School Basketball Rankings
Compiled by the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union
January 16, 2020

Class 1A
School Record LW
1 Montezuma 11-0 1
2 Newell-Fonda 12-0 2
3 Marquette Catholic 11-1 3
4 North Mahaska 9-2 4
5 Algona Bishop Garrigan 12-1 5
6 MMCRU 11-0 6
7 Saint Ansgar 11-1 7
8 East Buchanan 9-2 8
9 Clarksville 9-1 9
10 Council Bluffs St. Albert 8-3 14
11 Kingsley-Pierson 11-1 11
12 Exira-EHK 11-1 12
13 Central Decatur 8-1 13
14 Burlington Notre Dame 11-1 10
15 Turkey Valley 12-1 NR
Dropped Out: Springville (15)

Class 2A
School Record LW
1 Cascade 11-0 1
2 West Hancock 14-0 2
3 North Linn 10-1 3
4 Osage 9-1 4
5 MFL-Mar-Mac 12-2 5
6 West Branch 10-2 6
7 Van Buren County 10-2 7
8 Western Christian 7-4 8
9 Maquoketa Valley 11-1 9
10 Hudson 11-1 10
11 ASHTW 11-1 11
12 Mediapolis 12-1 12
13 Mount Ayr 8-2 13
14 Panorama 9-2 NR
15 Emmetsburg 7-3 14
Dropped Out: IKM-Manning (15)

Class 3A
School Record LW
1 Dike-New Hartford 10-1 3
2 Crestwood 12-2 2
3 Bishop Heelan 6-3 1
4 Clear Lake 10-1 5
5 Roland-Story 10-1 7
6 Red Oak 11-2 6
7 North Polk 7-4 4
8 Des Moines Christian 11-1 9
9 Okoboji 12-1 8
10 Hampton-Dumont-CAL 11-0 12
11 Davenport Assumption 7-3 10
12 Estherville-Lincoln Central 9-2 14
13 West Burlington 9-3 11
14 West Liberty 10-2 15
15 Unity Christian 7-3 NR
Dropped Out: Cherokee (13)

Class 4A
School Record LW
1 North Scott 11-0 1
2 Marion 9-0 2
3 Center Point-Urbana 10-0 3
4 Glenwood 12-0 4
5 Gilbert 9-2 5
6 Ballard 10-1 6
7 Cedar Rapids Xavier 7-3 8
8 Lewis Central 7-4 7
9 Waverly-Shell Rock 10-2 9
10 Central DeWitt 10-1 10
11 Grinnell 8-3 15
12 Mason City 7-6 11
13 Dallas Center-Grimes 7-4 NR
14 Carroll 7-3 13
15 ADM 7-3 NR
Dropped Out: Maquoketa (12), Bondurant-Farrar (14)

Class 5A
School Record LW
1 Iowa City High 9-0 1
2 Johnston 12-1 3
3 Dowling Catholic 10-2 4
4 Cedar Rapids Prairie 10-0 5
5 Waukee 10-1 6
6 Southeast Polk 11-1 2
7 Cedar Falls 8-3 8
8 Waterloo West 9-2 7
9 Urbandale 9-3 9
10 Ankeny Centennial 6-5 10
11 Davenport North 8-2 12
12 Ames 605 11
13 Bettendorf 8-4 13
14 Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln 9-2 14
15 West Des Moines Valley 6-5 NR
Dropped Out: Sioux City East (15)

The 7:20-a.m. Sportscast with Chris Parks.

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AMES, Iowa – The Iowa State men’s basketball team will return to the Emerald Coast Classic from Nov. 27-29 at The Arena on the campus of Northwest Florida State College in Niceville, Florida. The Cyclones won the tournament in 2015, Steve Prohm’s first season at Iowa State.

The tournament will feature Florida, Illinois and Oregon along with the Cyclones. The Cyclones defeated Illinois in the 2015 championship game.

First and second-round games will be played at on-campus sites with four third-round games played on Nov. 27. Consolation round games are scheduled Nov. 28 with the third-place and championship game set for Nov. 29.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Liam Robbins had 19 points and 12 rebounds to lead five Drake players scoring in double figures and the Bulldogs stretched their home win streak to 10 games, defeating Illinois State 84-74. Jonah Jackson and D.J. Wilkins added 13 points apiece for the Bulldogs. Roman Penn chipped in 12 points, and Noah Thomas had 10. Zach Copeland led the Redbirds with a career-high 32 points.