Northern Iowa (17-13) lost in the WNIT semifinals on Friday to Ole Miss (15-11), 60-50. Karli Rucker led the way for the Panthers with 16 points and five assists.

Sohia Peppers

(msidemustangs.com) Morningside College’s men’s and women’s basketball programs were represented on the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics’ All-American awards lists, released Thursday, March 25.

Head coach Jamie Sale’s women’s team and head coach Jim Sykes’ men’s squad each had two individuals recognized for their 2020-21 resumes. The women’s program extended a sparkling string of 18 straight seasons with at least one student-athlete being selected. The men ran a similar streak to five years in a row.

Senior guard Sierra Mitchell (SR/Pleasant Hill, Iowa) (Pleasant Hill, Iowa), who became the fourth player in school history to reach the 2,000-point mark and climbed into second on the Great Plains Athletic Conference’s all-time three-point basket chart, was tabbed first team, and junior forward Sophia Peppers (JR/Exira, Iowa) (Exira, Iowa) claimed honorable mention accolades. Mitchell, the 2020-21 GPAC Offensive Player of the Year, wound up the national leader in scoring (580 points) and made three-point baskets (125) and was also part of the top five in made treys per contest (3.906 – No. 3) and steals (79 – No. 5). It was her first first-team selection and third overall.

Peppers, gaining her first All-American recognition, was also part of the NAIA best 20 in points and steals. Her 458 points were 14th-best, and her 67 steals ranked 17th. She and her senior teammate were also named all-NAIA Championships tournament selections as part of a season when Peppers joined the 1,000-point club.

Morningside’s men had senior center Trey Brown (SR/Gretna, NE ) (Gretna, Neb.) and senior guard Zac Imig (Gretna, Neb.) honored. Brown was a second-team honoree, and Imig was tabbed honorable mention.

Brown, garnering his first All-American award, was part of two national statistical top 10s. His 304 rebounds stood fourth, and his 11.259 boards per contest average were seventh-best. He was also part of the first 20 in defensive caroms per outing (7.852 – No. 14), offensive rebounds per appearance (3.407), and field goal accuracy (62.5 percent – No. 20).

Imig earned his third successive honorable mention tag. The GPAC’s Defensive Player of the Year wound up ninth in assists (136) on the final NAIA numbers.

ACGC wrestling coach Shawn Danker is retiring from the position after a 30-year coaching career. Danker is stepping away to spend time watching his son Seth compete. Seth was a senior this season and has committed to wrestle at Cornell.

Danker will continue to teach in the district and still plans to help coach other sports in the future.

Legendary Harlan Baseball Coach Steve Daeges is leaving the dugout. Harlan Newspapers first reported yesterday that Daeges is retiring from the post after 27 seasons.

Daeges won 718 games in his career and led the Cyclones to three state championships. The Cyclones made 16 state tournament appearances and added five runner-up finishes under his leadership.

(Maryville, MO) The No. 2-seeded Northwest Missouri State University men’s basketball team (27-2 overall) will take on No. 1-seeded West Texas A&M (19-2 overall) in the 2021 NCAA Division II National Championship Saturday at 11 a.m. at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana. The Bearcats are searching for their third Title in the past 4 years, claiming national championships in 2017 and 2019.

Atlantic native and Bearcat senior Ryan Hawkins is averaging a team-high 24.5 points per game in this year’s NCAA Tournament. He’s knocked down a tournament-leading 17 three-pointers and is shooting almost 49% from downtown. He is averaging a team best 8.5 rebounds per game as well.

Northwest cruised past West Liberty and Flagler in the Elite Eight and Final Four rounds to reach the title game. West Texas A&M is coming off a buzzer beating win over Lincoln Memorial in the Final Four.

The 2021 NCAA Division II National Championship will be broadcast live on CBS. The game will be broadcast live on the Bearcat Radio Network and Westwood One as well.

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Season ticket holders will have the first opportunity to purchase tickets for University of Iowa softball home games in 2021, the Iowa Athletic Ticket Office announced Thursday.

Single-game tickets for those parties will go on sale beginning Friday, March 26 at 9am.

Ticket holders should log into their existing season-ticket online account for pre-sale access, but can also order by calling 1-800-IA-HAWKS.

Single game tickets are $5 for adults and free for youth (18-and-under).

Seating in Bob Pearl Field will be all general admission, and everyone must have a ticket, including free admissions.  All tickets will be mobile, and capacity will be just over 400.

Following the sale to season ticket holders, if any tickets remain, they will be made available to the general public on Thursday, April 1 at 9am.

Fans are required to buy their tickets in advance. There will be no game day sales at the gate.  Fans will be directed to the website and tickets will be delivered electronically (if available).

Iowa has four home series this season. The Hawkeyes host Indiana (April 2-4), Northwestern (April 16-18), Nebraska (May 7-9) and Illinois (May 14-16).

Men’s Basketball’s Luka Garza Tuesday, September 3, 2019 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. (Brian Ray/hawkeyesports.com)

IOWA CITY, Iowa — The Los Angeles Athletic Club announced on Friday its All-Americans and five finalists for the 2021 Wooden Award, which includes University of Iowa men’s basketball senior center Luka Garza. The prestigious award recognizes the most outstanding men’s college basketball player.

Joining Garza as a finalist for the esteemed award are Oklahoma State’s Cade Cunningham, Ayo Dosunmu of Illinois, and Gonzaga’s Corey Kispert.

Garza has already been named the national player of the year by Sporting News, Basketball Times, and The Athletic. Garza, who is Iowa’s first two-time unanimous first-team All-American, is also a finalist for the Oscar Robertson Trophy, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, Senior CLASS Award, and Lute Olson Award.

Garza (6-foot-11, 265 pounds) led the nationally-ranked Hawkeyes to 22 victories and a third place Big Ten finish in 2021. The Washington, D.C., native led the nation in total points (747); player efficiency rating (35.84); 30-point games (8); field goals made (281); and 20-point games (22). Garza ranked fifth nationally in free throw attempts (199), eighth in free throw makes (141), and 11th in double-doubles (13). His 747 points bested his previous school single-season record of 740 points set last season.

In his final game as a Hawkeye, Garza poured in 36 points and cleared nine rebounds. The 36 points are the most points scored by any Division I player in the 2021 NCAA Tournament and ties Bill Logan’s school record set against Temple 65 years ago on March 22, 1956.

The two-time Big Ten Player of the Year averaged 21.9 points per game during the 20-game conference schedule, becoming the third player since 1990 to lead the Big Ten in scoring in consecutive seasons (Michigan State’s Steve Smith and Evan Turner of Ohio State).

Garza broke the Iowa’s 32-year old scoring record held by Roy Marble on Feb. 21, 2021. He finished his Hawkeye career with 2,306 points rank seventh-best in Big Ten history. In addition to ranking first in career scoring, Garza is tops at Iowa in 30-point games (13), conference scoring (1,399), field goals made (870), field goal attempts (1,594), and 40-point games (2); second in rebounds (931); fourth in double-doubles (34); fifth in blocked shots (154); sixth in free throw makes (446) and attempts (636); and 16th in 3-pointers made (120). He is the only men’s basketball player in Big Ten history to accumulate 2,250 points and 900 rebounds.

The 45th annual presentation of the John R. Wooden Award to the men’s most outstanding college basketball player will take place on SportsCenter on ESPN on April 6.

Joe Cunningham – Office Personnel, 1972.

ST. LOUIS, Mo., March 26, 2021 – The St. Louis Cardinals organization was saddened to learn of the passing of former All-Star first baseman/outfielder “Smokey” Joe Cunningham at the age of 89 this week.

“Joe Cunningham will be remembered as a pillar of the Cardinals organization,” said Cardinals President Bill DeWitt III.  “Not only was he an outstanding player, but his contributions off the field were paramount in building the Cardinals fan base through innovative group sales and fan outreach initiatives.”

Signed by the Cardinals in 1949 as a 17-year-old, Cunningham played in the minor leagues for four seasons and served two years in the military during the Korean War before making his Major League debut as a first baseman in 1954.  He returned to the Major Leagues three years later in 1957 and was moved to the outfield to accommodate Hall of Famer Stan Musial’s move to first base.

His finest season came in 1959 when he led the Majors with a .453 on-base percentage, was named to two National League All-Star teams and finished as runner-up to Hank Aaron for the National League batting title with a .345 average.  After playing parts of seven seasons in St. Louis, Cunningham was traded to the Chicago White Sox following the 1961 season for long-time star Minnie Miñoso.  He would finish his career with the Washington Senators.  Over his 12-year big league career, Cunningham compiled a .291 average, .403 on-base percentage, 64 home runs and 436 RBI over 1,141 games.

Following his playing days, Cunningham returned to baseball as an instructor serving as manager for the Single-A affiliates Modesto Reds (1968-69) and St. Petersburg Cardinals (1970-71).  He later served on Whitey Herzog’s major league coaching staff for one season during the team’s World Series championship run in 1982.

Cunningham’s biggest contribution to the organization may have been off the field, after being named as the Cardinals Director of Sales in 1972.  He is credited with building the Group and Season Ticket departments, and creating the foundation for the organization to be one of the leading ticket sales teams in all of Major League Baseball for the past 30 years.

As a Group Sales innovator, he created programs such as community nights, high school baseball games at Busch Stadium, anthem performances and on-field experiences that built countless loyal Cardinals fans over the years, all of which are carried forward today.  Cunningham also helped develop the Party Room and All-Inclusive experience at Busch Stadium when he turned the vacant football press box at Busch Stadium II into festive party areas.  Party Rooms and All-Inclusive tickets continue to remain as one of the most popular game day experiences for thousands of Cardinals fans at each game.

“Joe was a tremendous leader and mentor for so many senior Cardinals staff members with his outgoing personality and focus on building long-term relationships,” said Dan Farrell, Sr. Vice President of Sales and Marketing.  “It is his legacy that fundamentally established the fan-friendly customer service standards by which we teach and train our sales staffs to this day.”

Cunningham later served as the team’s Community Relations Director starting in the early 1990s.  In that role, he developed the “Say No To Drugs” school program, which has evolved into the current Fredbird & Friends Elementary School program.  This award-winning program has reached hundreds of schools and thousands of children over the years and Joe remained an active presenter well into his 80’s as the program and interaction with kids became one of his favorite passions.

In 2015, the Cardinals honored Cunningham with a surprise ceremony at Busch Stadium, dedicating a new area of the ballpark adjacent to the UMB Champions Club called “Cunningham Corner” that is utilized for various group events, programs and postseason celebrations.

Cunningham was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2012 and the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame in 2015.

A native of Paterson and Saddle Brook, N.J., Joseph Robert Cunningham is survived by his wife of 60 years, Kathe, his son Joseph Jr., a former Cardinals minor league player (1984-88) and coach, his son Pete and his wife Kristen, and three grandchildren (Cassie, Joseph and Laci).