Iowa linebacker Jay Higgins hopes to make a decision on his future prior to the New Years Day Citrus Bowl against Tennessee. Higgins is second in the country in tackles and earned All-American honors for the Hawkeyes. He could return for another season.

Higgins says he is leaning on the advice of linebackers coach Seth Wallace.

Higgins says he used finals week to clear his mind.

Northern Iowa coach Ben Jacobson says defense remains a concern as the Panthers get ready to visit Northern Illinois on Thursday night. The Panthers are 5-7 after a 100-82 win over Alcorn State.

Jacobson believes the Panthers have the ability to become a good defensive team.

Jacobson says it is a mind set to get better as opposed to technique.

The Iowa State men play their final game before the Christmas break on Thursday night when they host Eastern Illinois. The Cyclones are 9-2 while Eastern enters with a record of 6-6.

That’s Cyclone coach T.J. Otzelberger who says Eastern Illinois does a good job of limiting easy baskets.

Iowa State women’s coach Bill Fennelly senior guard Emily Ryan will see limited action on Wednesday night when the Cyclones host Northern Iowa. The All-Big 12 guard played nine minutes in Sunday’s win over Troy after being sidelined with a lower leg injury suffered during the summer.

Fennelly says Ryan gives the Cyclones a much-needed boost of experience.

Girls Wrestling

S.W.A.T. Valkyrie 50, Riverside 30
S.W.A.T. Valkyrie 72, Urbandale 9
Riverside 40, Urbandale 30

Independence 69, Clear Creek Amana 3

Raccoon River-Northwest 69, Perry 9

Boys Wrestling

Shenandoah 40, Treynor 36
Underwood 43, Shenandoah 32
Underwood 42, Treynor 37

Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln 48, ADM 31
Des Moines East 51, ADM 27

Atlantic 63, Woodbine 18
Atlantic 54, OABCIG 18
Logan-Magnolia 47, Atlantic 30
Logan-Magnolia 53, Woodbine 22
Logan-Magnolia 63, OABCIG 18
OABCIG 42, Woodbine 28

Atlantic went 2-1 at Logan Magnolia

Atlantic 63 Woodbine 18

157: Connor Murdock (WOOD) over (ATLA) (For.)
165: Spencer Monk (WOOD) over (ATLA) (For.)
175: Donovan Hedrington (ATLA) over Tony Kuker (WOOD) (Fall 1:14)
190: Cohen Bruce (ATLA) over Nick Carlin (WOOD) (Fall 1:19)
215: Zayden Parker (ATLA) over (WOOD) (For.)
285: Evan Sorensen (ATLA) over Glenn Promnitz (WOOD) (Fall 0:25)
106: Collin Harris (ATLA) over (WOOD) (For.)
113: Taye Jordan (ATLA) over (WOOD) (For.)
120: Braxton Hass (ATLA) over (WOOD) (For.)
126: Aiden Smith (ATLA) over Caden Arocho (WOOD) (Fall 1:10)
132: Jayden Harter (ATLA) over (WOOD) (For.)
138: D`artagnan Hansen (ATLA) over (WOOD) (For.)
144: Carter Hadley (ATLA) over Layne Thomas (WOOD) (Dec 9-6)
150: Brenner Sullivan (WOOD) over Nico McBride (ATLA) (Fall 0:56)

Atlantic 54 OABCIG 18

106: Collin Harris (ATLA) over (OABC) (For.)
113: Taye Jordan (ATLA) over Myles Beck (OABC) (Fall 5:58)
120: Braxton Hass (ATLA) over (OABC) (For.)
126: Aiden Smith (ATLA) over Jackson Wulf (OABC) (Fall 1:19)
132: Jayden Harter (ATLA) over Matt Knudsen (OABC) (Fall 1:16)
138: Caden Spetman (OABC) over Carter Hadley (ATLA) (Fall 2:44)
144: Dreven Smith (ATLA) over Michael Greder (OABC) (Fall 2:16)
150: Dayton Ullrich (OABC) over Nico McBride (ATLA) (Fall 0:43)
157: Double Forfeit 165: Double Forfeit
175: Donovan Hedrington (ATLA) over Gage Leed (OABC) (Fall 2:42)
190: Cohen Bruce (ATLA) over Karter Wulf (OABC) (Fall 1:01)
215: Gavin Remer (OABC) over Zayden Parker (ATLA) (Fall 0:47)
285: Evan Sorensen (ATLA) over (OABC) (For.)

Logan-Magnolia 47 Atlantic 30

165: Tyson Jenkins (LOMA) over (ATLA) (For.)
175: Donovan Hedrington (ATLA) over Rex Meeker (LOMA) (Dec 10-4)
190: Cohen Bruce (ATLA) over (LOMA) (For.)
215: Carson Edney (LOMA) over Zayden Parker (ATLA) (Fall 1:12)
285: Evan Sorensen (ATLA) over Grant Brix (LOMA) (Fall 0:46)
106: Crosby Yoder (LOMA) over Collin Harris (ATLA) (TF 19-4 5:41)
113: Taye Jordan (ATLA) over Noah Archibald (LOMA) (Fall 1:45)
120: Braxton Hass (ATLA) over Gavin Kiger (LOMA) (Dec 7-0)
126: Aiden Smith (ATLA) over Lyrick Stueve (LOMA) (Fall 1:11)
132: Max Wingert (LOMA) over D`artagnan Hansen (ATLA) (Fall 1:50)
138: Kai Carritt (LOMA) over Jayden Harter (ATLA) (Fall 1:11)
144: Corbin Reisz (LOMA) over Dreven Smith (ATLA) (Fall 0:41)
150: Wyatt Hawkins (LOMA) over (ATLA) (For.)
157: Logan Bratetic (LOMA) over (ATLA) (For.)

Hawkeye Ten Conference:
Harlan Community 54, Clarinda 47
Kuemper Catholic 101, St. Albert 51
Atlantic 68, Shenandoah 43
Lewis Central 75 Glenwood, 57
Denison-Schleswig 76 Red Oak, 56

Western Iowa Conference:
Audubon 51, Logan-Magnolia 33
Treynor 74, Riverside 62
Underwood 74, Tri-Center 37
IKM-Manning 81 Missouri Valley, 56

Rolling Valley Conference:
Ar-We-Va 63, Boyer Valley 49
Woodbine 62, Coon Rapids-Bayard 45
Glidden-Ralston 44, CAM 41

Corner Conference:
Grand View Christian 94, Stanton 50
Griswold 74, Heartland Christian 49

West Central Conference:
ACGC 84, West Central Valley 65
Madrid 60, Ogden 34
#3 Des Moines Christian 71, Van Meter 59

Hawkeye Ten Conference:
#6 Harlan Community 63, Clarinda 42
#10 Lewis Central 54, Glenwood 42
Denison-Schleswig 70, Red Oak 35
Shenandoah 56, Atlantic 47
#6 St. Albert 59, #14 Kuemper Catholic 45

Western Iowa Conference:
#14 Treynor 48, Riverside 42
Underwood 46, Tri-Center 36

Rolling Valley Conference:
#11 CAM 77, Glidden-Ralston 37
Corner Conference:
Stanton 52, Grand View Christian 41
Bedford 48, East Mills 38
Griswold 52, Heartland Christian 21

West Central Conference:
Madrid 34, Ogden 29
#3 Panorama 69, Woodward-Granger 43
ACGC 55, West Central Valley 25
#3 Des Moines Christian 50, Van Meter 36

Lynnae Green’s 3 point shot in the final 5 seconds sent Shenandoah to a overtime win over Atlantic 56-47 on Tuesday night in Shenandoah. The Trojans led by as many as 12 points in the second quarter but the Fillies clawed their way back in the second half.

The Trojans led 27-15 at halftime and the Fillies trimmed the lead to 7 at 31-24 by the end of the third. Shenandoah kept it within 5 points throughout the latter half of the fourth quarter and finally tied it in the final seconds on a high arc three on the wing by Lynnae Green. Tied at 44 the Fillies came out strong in the extra session to start out with a 9-0 run. The Trojans would only score 3 in overtime and watched as Shenandoah celebrated the comeback victory.

Trojans head coach Dan Vargason was proud of the strong start his team had and the way they battled throughout the night.

Zoey Kirchoff led the Trojans with 18 points and Maddie Richter had 13 off of three triples in the first half. Coach Vargason noted that he was happy to see success offensively outside of just Paytn Harter and hopes his team can continue to improve with being locked in throughout the full 32 minutes.

With the loss the Trojans fall to 3-7 on the season. They get right back after it against St. Albert on Thursday evening. Shenandoah was led by 16 points from Lynnae Green and 12 from Chloe Denton. The Fillies improve to 6-4 and no have games remaining until after the break.

The Atlantic Trojans picked up their first Hawkeye Ten conference game with a 68-43 victory over the Shenandoah Mustangs Tuesday night. The Trojans jumped out to a very hot fast start with their energy on the defensive side of the floor. The Trojans played a full court 1-2-2 press that had the Mustangs in fits offensively. The Trojans would force 4 Mustang turnovers in the first few minutes that led to Nolan Waters and Colton Rasmussen to get in transition and held a 18-8 lead after one quarter. The Trojans would keep the same energy spirit in the second quarter as Colton Rasmussen found the range as he hit three long balls on his way to 11 seconds quarter points to push the halftime lead to 31-14. The Trojans did a great job of taking care of the basketball tonight as they had just three first half turnovers and just nine in the ball game. Head Coach of the Trojans Dalton Franken was pleased with how his team started the night energy wise and the focus to control the basketball.

The Trojans would continue to dominate the second half as the Trojans won all four quarters on the night in route to their second win on the season and first conference win. The Trojans had great contributions from all who stepped onto the floor but none as big as Colton Rasmussen leading all scorers with 31 points that is seven points over his season average. Nolan Waters also poured in a big night scoring wise as the senior lefty added in 16 points and played very aggressive. Trojans head coach Dalton Franken said the Trojans are a much better team when Waters stays in attack mode.

The Trojans will be back in action Thursday night when they travel to Audubon to take on the Wheelers for a 7:30 tipoff. We will have the coverage starting at 7:20pm on KJANTV.

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State coach Matt Fannon officially announced the addition of three transfers on Tuesday afternoon. All three will be joining the Cyclones for the spring semester.

Vanderbilt transfer Ella Zimmerman, along with a pair of teammates from Weber State – Morgan Furmaniak and Yira Yoggerst – make up the three-person class.

“It is really exciting to bring such high-caliber mid-year transfers into our program,” says Fannon. “We know we need to build some depth and quality across the squad, and these three women will make an immediate impact on training every day throughout the spring and help us build to new heights this fall.”

Morgan Furmaniak, a 5-10 forward and native of Plainfield, Ill., will spend her senior season with the Cyclones after starting 51 of 53 possible matches with the Wildcats.

Furmaniak had a stellar career with Portland State, beginning with her freshman campaign. As a rookie, she earned the Big Sky Newcomer of the Year award and was also an All-Academic Team member. As a sophomore, Furmaniak was named Co-Offensive MVP of the Big Sky as she also earned the Golden Boot Award and First Team All-Conference honors.

“Morgan has all the tools that make a great center forward,” says Associate Head Coach CC McGrath. “Her presence on the field is quickly apparent and she will add an element to our attack that makes us even more dynamic.”

Furmaniak has 12 career goals to pair with seven assists. She’s logged over 3,700 minutes of experience and has scored 31 points across her three-year collegiate career.

Yira Yoggerst comes to Ames along with Furmaniak from Weber State, after spending four years in her home city of Ogden with the Wildcats.

Yoggerst, a 5-4 midfielder, will spend her fifth collegiate season with the Cyclones, taking advantage of a COVID year. Across her four years with Weber State, Yoggerst started 41 of 60 matches and tallied over 3,700 minutes of action. She earned All-Conference First Team in 2022 after her junior campaign.

“Yira brings with her a ton of college playing experience,” says McGrath. “Her maturity and exposure to high levels of competition will serve her and this team well moving forward.”

Yira has four career goals to pair with six assists. She has one game-winning goal and places 38.6 percent of her shots on net.

Ella Zimmerman rounds out the recruiting class for ISU. Zimmerman, a Vanderbilt transfer, comes to Ames after spending two seasons with the Commodores as a defender.

A native of Cumming, Ga., Zimmerman has appeared in 27 matches across the past two seasons. Owning six career starts, Zimmerman has played in over 800 minutes of action.

“Ella has proven that she can play at an extremely high level coming from the SEC,” says McGrath. “We fully expect her to raise the standard within our team this spring.”

Ella will be a junior with the Cyclones in the upcoming 2024 season. She becomes the second Ella on the team, joining, coincidentally, fellow Georgia native Ella Ciardullo.