Rosemont, Ill. – The Big Ten Conference will allow a limited number of fans to attend the 2021 Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament, which will be played March 9-13 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Following approval by the Marion County Health Department, the decision to allow a limited capacity of 2,500 attendees was made jointly by the Big Ten Conference Directors of Athletics and the Council of President and Chancellors in consultation with the conference office.

A limited number of single-session tickets will go on sale to the general public through Ticketmaster on Thursday, March 4 at Noon ET. Further details can be found at http://www.bigten.org/wbbt.

The Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament will utilize mobile tickets only. Arena gates will open one hour prior to each session of the tournament to accommodate early arriving fans.

Fans attending the Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament are encouraged to become familiar with health and safety procedures at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The venue has instituted numerous health and safety procedures for all events, including requirements for fans and arena employees on game days. These procedures were designed to meet local and CDC guidelines to help limit the spread of COVID-19 as the health and safety of our student-athletes, coaches, officials, fans and campus communities remain our highest priority.

For more details on Bankers Life Fieldhouse’s health and safety protocols and additional details on ticket sales, please visit http://www.bigten.org/wbbt.

Rosemont, Ill. – The Big Ten Conference will allow a limited number of fans to attend the 2021 Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament presented by SoFi, which will be contested, March 10-14, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Following approval by the Marion County Health Department, the decision to allow a limited capacity of 8,000 attendees was made jointly by the Big Ten Conference Directors of Athletics and the Council of President and Chancellors in consultation with the conference office.

A limited number of tickets will go on sale through each school’s ticket office. Further information will be distributed by university ticket offices, including a discounted student ticket program. Additional details can be found at bigten.org/mbbt.

University of Iowa season ticket holders from the 2019-20 and 2020-21 season will receive all-session ticket information via email today. The University of Iowa does not anticipate ticket availability to the general public through its ticket office. Fans are encouraged to monitor ticketmaster.com for available tickets.

The Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament will utilize mobile tickets only. Stadium gates will open one hour prior to each session of the tournament to accommodate early arriving fans.

Fans attending the Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament are encouraged to become familiar with health and safety procedures at Lucas Oil Stadium. The venue has instituted numerous health and safety procedures for all events, including requirements for fans and stadium employees on game days. These procedures were designed to meet local and CDC guidelines to help limit the spread of COVID-19 as the health and safety of our student-athletes, coaches, officials, fans and campus communities remain our highest priority.

For more details on Lucas Oil Stadium’s health and safety protocols and additional details on ticket sales, please visit bigten.org/mbbt.

The 7:20-a.m. Sportscast with Jim Field.

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

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Grace Berger, Mackenzie Holmes, and Ali Patberg each scored 22 points as 10th-ranked Indiana rallied from a seven-point deficit in the third quarter for an 89-80 Big Ten home victory over Iowa. The Hoosiers (17-4, 15-2 Big Ten) pulled to within a half-game of No. 8 Maryland (19-2, 15-1) for the regular-season conference crown. Indiana has one game remaining while the Terrapins have two. Iowa freshman guard Caitlin Clark, the nation’s second-leading scorer at 26.9 points per game, led all scorers with 32 points before fouling out late in the fourth quarter. Manika Czinano added 20 points for the Hawkeyes (14-8, 10-8).

UNDATED (AP) — The Nebraska basketball team is hitting its stride late in the regular season. The Cornhuskers head into their game at No. 5 Iowa on Thursday night off consecutive Big Ten wins for the first time since February 2018. They’ve done it mostly without leading scorer Teddy Allen. He left the team Monday after being benched for most of the win over Minnesota on Saturday. The Huskers have shot a combined 53% overall and 41% on 3-pointers in their last two games and have clamped down on defense. Nebraska hasn’t won in Iowa City since 2012.

VILLANOVA, Pa. (AP) — Justin Moore scored 24 points and helped No. 10 Villanova capture the Big East title with a 72-60 win over No. 14 Creighton. Creighton coach Greg McDermott is under fire for using language evocative of slavery. McDermott had apologized for urging his players to “stay on the plantation” in a postgame locker room talk. McDermott says he did not resign because “our guys wanted me to coach.” The Wildcats lost star guard Collin Gillespie to a left knee injury in the first half. He writhed in pain on the court and immediately needed help to the locker room. Mitch Ballock led Creighton with 14 points.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Dru Smith scored the game-winner, banking a baseline drive reverse layup off the glass with 0.7 seconds on the clock and Missouri held on to defeat Florida 72-70 for the Tigers’ first-ever win in Gainesville. Florida had made up a 10-point gap by fighting through the entirety of the second half to close on an 8-0 run and tie at 70-70 with 18 seconds left. Dru Smith scored 17 points and had nine assists and a season-high six steals to lead Missouri, Mitchell Smith scored 14 and Mark Smith 11. Xavier Pinson scored 14, making four 3-pointers, and Jeremiah Tilmon added 12 points. Tre Mann scored 21 points to lead Florida, Tyree Appleby added 12 with five assists and Noah Locke scored 11.

UNDATED (AP) — No. 2 Michigan and Michigan State will meet twice in four days, Thursday and Sunday. The rivals will close the regular season against each other with plenty at stake. The Wolverines are motivated to strengthen their case for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Spartans have been in college basketball’s showcase 22 times in a row and everyone in the program desperately wants to extend the streak. The first scheduled matchup in February was postponed and moved to Thursday, two days after Michigan was routed by No. 4 Illinois and Michigan State outlasted Indiana.

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Esmery Martinez scored 23 points on 11-of-15 shooting and grabbed 12 rebounds to help No. 20 West Virginia beat Kansas State 72-64. Kysre Gondrezick added 14 points, Kirsten Deans and 13 points and nine assists, and Jasmine Carson scored 11 points for West Virginia (19-4, 13-4 Big 12). Ayoka Lee, a 6-foot-6 sophomore center, scored 26 points on 11-of-18 shooting and grabbed 14 rebounds for Kansas State, which led for just 30 seconds. The rest of the Wildcats made just 14 of 45 (31%) from the field. The Mountaineers play No. 6 and Big 12-leading Baylor on Monday with a chance to lock up the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament, which begins March 11.

EVANSVILLE, Ind. (AP) — Ta’lon Cooper had 17 points off the bench to lift Morehead State to a 61-54 win over Southeast Missouri in the first round of the Ohio Valley Conference tourney. Eric Reed Jr. led the Redhawks with 17 points. Morehead State will play third-seeded Eastern Kentucky or No. 6 seed Austin Peay in the semifinals.

The Exira-EHK Spartans followed a familiar script to advance to the Class 1A State Semifinals; build a halftime lead, let it slip away in the third, and then finish strong. Exira-EHK grabbed a 60-55 win over MMCRU on Wednesday evening in Des Moines.

The Spartans fell behind 6-0 out of the gate but answered with a 7-0 to grab a lead. MMCRU led 10-9 at the end of the first. Sparty then went on a late 8-0 run to lead 30-21 at halftime. Shay Burmeister hit back to back threes in that stretch to gain the edge. Burmeister talked about being confident in the moment.

MMCRU rallied back in the third quarter, outscoring the Spartans 24-13 in the frame. The Royals took a two point lead into the fourth and then Quinn Grubbs took over. The outstanding sophomore scored 12 of her game high 25 points in the fourth. The biggest shot perhaps was a tie-breaking three midway through the fourth that gave the Spartans a 52-49 lead that they would not relent. The Spartans got to the foul line and hit 6 of 9 down the stretch to grab the win. Exira-EHK Head Coach Tom Petersen said the team just continues to deliver.

Aside from Grubbs the Spartans had three other players in double figures. Burmeister with 14, Mollie Rasmussen 11, and Macy Emgarten 10. The Spartans improve to an impressive 24-0 on the season and advance to the 1A Semifinals. They will take on top-seeded Bishop Garrigan on Friday afternoon. Coach Petersen continues to be in awe of this small but mighty team.

MMCRU was led by 20 points from junior Emily Dreckman and 17 from fellow junior Ellie Hilbrands. The Royals closed their season at 21-3.

We’ll have coverage of the Spartans and the Golden Bears on Friday afternoon on KJAN. Pregame will start at 1:00 p.m. with tipoff at 2:00 p.m. Check out full postgame comments from Shay Burmeister and Head Coach Tom Petersen below.

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Class 2A Quarterfinals

#2 Dike-New Hartford 44, #7 Treynor 36
#3 West Branch 49, #6 Grundy Center 33

Class 1A Quarterfinals

#1 Bishop Garrigan 48, #8 Springville 42
#4 Exira-EHK 60, #5 MMCRU 55 -ON KJAN
#2 Newell-Fonda 88, #7 Kingsley-Pierson 47
#6 Montezuma 50, #3 Saint Ansgar 45

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Grace Berger, Mackenzie Holmes, and Ali Patberg each scored 22 points as 10th-ranked Indiana rallied from a seven-point deficit in the third quarter for an 89-80 Big Ten home victory over Iowa. The Hoosiers (17-4, 15-2 Big Ten) pulled to within a half-game of No. 8 Maryland (19-2, 15-1) for the regular-season conference crown. Indiana has one game remaining while the Terrapins have two.

Iowa freshman guard Caitlin Clark, the nation’s second-leading scorer at 26.9 points per game, led all scorers with 32 points before fouling out late in the fourth quarter. Manika Czinano added 20 points for the Hawkeyes (14-8, 10-8).

2020-21 Western Iowa All-Conference
Basketball Honor Teams

WIC GIRLS BB

Co-Players of the Year: Kailey Jones (sr., AHSTW); Aleah Hermensen (jr., Audubon).

First Team

*Kailey Jones (sr., AHSTW); *Aleah Hermensen (jr., Audubon); *Clara Tiegland (soph., Treynor); Alexa Ahrenholtz (sr., IKM-Manning); Jaci Christensen (jr., Audubon); Kendra Kuck (jr., Underwood); Emilie Thompson (sr., Logan-Magnolia).

Second Team

Claire Denning (sr., AHSTW); Aliyah Humphrey (soph., Underwood); Claire Harris (sr., AHSTW); Mandy Stogdill (sr., Treynor); Leah Hall (soph., Underwood); Alyssa Keller (sr., Treynor); Presley Pogge (sr., Tri-Center).

*Unanimous Selection.

WIC BOYS BB

Player of the Year: Raddyn Grobe (jr., AHSTW).

First Team

*Raddyn Grobe (jr., AHSTW); *Leyton Nelson (sr., Tri-Center); *Tre Melby (sr., Logan-Magnolia); *Tim Zimmerman (sr., Treynor); Ethan Alfers (sr., Tri-Center); Sid Schaff (sr., Treynor); Brayden Lund (soph., AHSTW).

Second Team

Kyle Sternberg (soph., AHSTW); Grady Jeppersen (fr., Riverside); Trent Kozeal (sr., Tri-Center); Noah James (sr., Treynor); Blake Hall (sr., Underwood); Kyler Rasmussen (sr., IKM-Manning); Brogan Allensworth (sr., Riverside).

*Unanimous Selections.

2020-21 WIC Academic All-Conference – Winter Season
(Must be a senior; Maintain a 3.25 cumulative grade point average)

Boys Basketball

AHSTW: Blake Holst, Chloe Falkena (mgr.).
Audubon: Teddy DuVall, Ethan Klocke, Joel Klocke.
IKM-Manning: Kyler Rasmussen, Brody Swearinger, Connor Keller.
Logan-Magnolia: Randen Bradshaw, Tre Melby.
Missouri Valley: Alec Fichter, Jacob Meade.
Riverside: Wyatt Hough, Eli Ryun, Drake Woods.
Treynor: Noah James, Braden Larsen, Blake Sadr, Sid Schaff.
Tri-Center: Leyton Nelson, Trent Kozeal, Mason Rohatsch, Zach Elliott, Ethan Alfers, Alex Wilson, Landon Thomas, Owen Osbahr, Drake Newland, Mollie Nelson (mgr.).
Underwood: James Brainard, Blake Hall, Brayden Wollan, AJ Scott, Quinn Kuck.

Girls Basketball

AHSTW: Claire Denning, Claire Harris, Kailey Jones, Julia Kock, Holly Hoepner, MaKenzie Whyte.
Audubon: Sydney Beymer, Kodie Sporrer, Katelyn Nielsen, Johanna Sauers.
IKM-Manning: Alexa Ahrenholtz, Lauren Danner.
Logan-Magnolia: Emme Lake, Courtney Ohl, Emilie Thompson.
Missouri Valley: Carlie Winchester.
Riverside: Kenna Ford, Chiara Rains.
Treynor: Anna Halverson, Alyssa Keller, Mandy Stogdill.
Tri-Center: Jade Daughenbaugh, Madison Ausdemore, Presley Pogge, Molly Carlson, Kylie Alfers, Faith McPhillips, Annie Dahir (mgr.).
Underwood: Macy Van Fossen, Taylor Nelson, Zoe Russ.

Wrestling

Logan-Magnolia: Daisy Harlon, Josef Hedger, Briar Reisz.
Missouri Valley: Fred Veatch.
Treynor: Trevor Casey, Evan Smith.
Tri-Center: Ethan Chmelka, Luke Hundtofte, Pearl Huddle (mgr.).
Underwood: Nick Stephens, Chris Gardiner.

The Exira-EHK Spartans girls basketball team will get to step on the State Tournament stage on Wednesday afternoon. The Spartans (23-0) will square off against the MMCRU Royals (21-2) in a Class 1A Quarterfinal game that is set for a 4:00 p.m. tipoff. We’ll have coverage on KJAN starting with pregame at 3:00 p.m.

The Spartans are coming off a thrilling Regional Final win over Lenox in which the Spartans built a 20 point halftime lead, gave it all way, and then finished strong in the fourth to advance 66-56. The Royals also prevailed by ten in their Regional Final win over Westwood 53-43.

The Spartans have been led by three players averaging double figures in scoring. Macy Emgarten with 18, Quinn Grubbs with 16.2, and Mollie Rasmussen with 13.7. The Spartans are averaging 65 points per game as a team. Spartans Head Coach Tom Petersen has been proud of the growth the team has shown through a tough year.

Coach Petersen also said the girls have done a great job adjusting their roles after senior Tatum Grubbs suffered an injury.

The Royals have four players that average double figures: Emily Dreckman with 15, Ellie Hilbrands with 12, and Jaylen Bork with 11. The Royals are averaging 66 points per game as a squad. Coach Petersen said the outside shooting of the Royals is a concern and he knows they will have to slow down Hilbrands inside.

We’ll have coverage of the Quarterfinal match-up today on KJAN. Pregame starts at 3:00 p.m. with tip-off scheduled for 4:00 p.m. Chris Parks and Joe Wollum will have the call from Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

The 7:20-a.m. Sportscast with Jim Field.

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