Connect 4: Iowa Wesleyan women stay unscathed

MT. PLEASANT — After three-straight blowout wins, the Iowa Wesleyan women’s basketball team had their closest challenge yet on Wednesday night, but when the final buzzer sounded, it was once again the Tigers who finished on top.

Iowa Wesleyan held off Monmouth College 72-63, the fourth win in a row to start the season.

Iowa Wesleyan trailed after the first period. Monmouth led by as much as six points in the first quarter and held a 22-20 advantage after one quarter. The Tigers battled back in the second and led 41-36 at halftime.

Junior guard Kyla Moore had a hot start to the game. It only took two quarters for Moore to reach double digits for the fourth-straight contest, as she put up 8 points in the first and 6 in the second to score 14 in the first half.

“It's my teammates,” Moore said. “They find me when I'm open, and when I'm hitting, they know to get me the ball.”

A big turning point came in the second quarter when Moore came up with a steal, diving out-of-bounds to save a ball that led to a fast break layup by Maci Kutcha.

“I kind of wanted to get something going for us, and give us a little bit of momentum,” Moore said. “If there is a hustle play, usually that gets the team fired up.”

Monmouth cut the Tigers’ lead to one point with just over four minutes left in the third quarter. A pair of Cassi Kraft layups helped the Tigers pull away, and it was never a 1-point game again.

Tiger head coach Steve Williamson said he was happy with the win, but said it wasn’t the type of game he likes his squad to play.

“We just didn't play to our effort tonight,” Williamson said. “Our intensity on the floor was bad. We were just going through the motions.”

None-the-less, the Tigers got the job done, partially due to Moore and Breanna Wendland, who combined for 41 points.

Moore went 4-for-11 from the field and 15-for-16 from the free-throw line to end the game with 23 points. Wendland went 7-for-11 from the field and hit three 3-pointers en route to an 18 point performance.

“They're winners,” Williamson said. “They know what it takes. It's nice to have those kids when we need them to step up.”

Kuchta ended the day with 9 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Kraft had 8 points, and both Brielle Baker and Brittany West scored 7.

The Tigers will look to move to 5-0 on Monday when they head south to Fulton, Missouri, to play at William Woods University. That game begins at 5:30 p.m.