MANHATTAN, Kan. – Junior Wesley Iwundu poured in a career-high 23 points to go with a career-tying 10 rebounds, as Kansas State won its season opener over Maryland-Eastern Shore, 80-53, in front of 11,389 fans in Bramlage Coliseum on Friday night.
K-State (1-0) improved to 87-25 (.776) all-time in season openers, including 22-2 (.917) at Bramlage Coliseum.
Senior Justin Edwards and freshman Barry Brown added double-digit scoring nights of their own, tacking on 17 points apiece. The pair went a combined 12-for-24 from the field and 4-for-10 from behind the arc.
Junior D.J. Johnson saw the court for the first time since the Wildcats’ NCAA Tournament game with Kentucky on March 22, 2014, scoring five points to go along with six blocks and two steals in his 14 minutes of action.
K-State continues its homestand on Monday, November 16 at 8 p.m., as it hosts Columbia at Bramlage Coliseum in the second game of a doubleheader. The women’s team hosts Abilene Christian at 5:30 p.m.
The Northwest Missouri State women’s basketball team opened the 2015-16 season with a loss to Augustana, 89-52.
The game was played in the Stewart Center on the campus of Sioux Falls in Sioux Falls, S.D.
Senior Tember Schechinger led Northwest with 12 points and seven rebounds after knocking down five-of-11 shots from the field.
Jasmin Howe and Shelby Mustain each matched Schechinger’s seven rebounds. Mustain scored eight points, including six in the first half, while Howe added four points, one assist and one steal.
The Bearcats hit 19-of-51 shots in the game (37.3 percent), while the Vikings hit 47.1 percent of their shots (33-of-70).
Northwest scored on four straight possessions late in the third quarter to claw closer to the Vikings. Tember Schechinger connected on two straight layups, the first coming on a pass from Arbrie Benson. After Schechinger knocked down one-of-two free throws on the next Bearcat possession, Taryne Shull made a driving layup to close the gap to 64-38.
The Bearcats will wrap up the opening weekend when they play host Sioux Falls Saturday at 6 p.m.
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Sophie Cunningham (Columbia, Mo.) and Jordan Frericks (Quincy, Ill.) both recorded double-doubles as Mizzou Women’s Basketball (1-0) earned a 71-55 victory at Missouri State (0-1) in the season opener on Friday evening at JQH Arena. Michelle Hudyn (Kitchener, Ontario) added a career-high 13 rebounds in the win.
“I’m really proud of the way our team battled,” head coach Robin Pingeton said. “We felt like the team that won the rebounding battle would win the game. Missouri State is a really good team and it was a great environment tonight.”
Mizzou’s defense limited Missouri State to 31 percent (19-for-61) shooting from the field and 32 percent (7-for-22) from 3-point range. The Tigers outscored the Bears 27-8 in the fourth quarter as MSU closed the game by making one of its last 16 shots from the floor.
The Tigers outrebounded MSU 53-27 and outscored the Bears 15-4 in second-chance points and 28-16 in the paint. For the game, Mizzou shot 44 percent (24-for-54) from the field and 74 percent (17-for-23) from the free throw line. In the second half, the Tigers shot 62 percent (16-for-26) from the floor and 46 percent (5-for-11) from 3-point range.
Sophie Cunningham scored 19 points and pulled down four rebounds in the last two quarters to lead the Tigers back from a 22-21 halftime deficit. Her 3-pointer with 7:42 remaining gave Mizzou a 51-50 lead that would never be relinquished. She finished the game 7-for-11 from the field, 2-for-4 from beyond the arc and 7-for-8 from the foul line. Five of her rebounds came on the offensive end and she also added five assists.
Frericks scored 14 points and grabbed 10 boards. She went 5-for-7 from the floor and 4-for-5 from the free throw line. Frericks scored 12 points and pulled down eight rebounds over the final two quarters.
Lindsey Cunningham (Columbia, Mo.) scored 10 points and was a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the arc, including a crucial 3-pointer off of a pass from Sierra Michaelis (Mercer, Mo.) with 2:41 remaining to increase the lead to 58-52. Michaelis also finished with 10 points to go along with five assists.
Over the game’s final 7:42, the Tigers outscored MSU 23-5, including an 8-0 run over the final 1:14.
Liza Fruendt led the Bears with 13 points and two steals before fouling out.
Mizzou returns to action on Monday, Nov. 16 with the regular season home opener against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT at Mizzou Arena.
(Missourinet) -University of Missouri Head Football Coach Gary Pinkel will resign his position following the conclusion of the 2015 season, and he will remain as Mizzou’s coach through December 31, 2015, or until a new head coach is in place, as announced today by MU Director of Athletics Mack Rhoades. Pinkel informed his staff and team this evening, and will address questions following Saturday’s game against BYU at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo.
Pinkel and Rhoades are discussing a role that would keep him associated with Mizzou Athletics once he steps away from coaching duties.
Pinkel’s decision is health-based, as he was diagnosed in May of 2015 with lymphoma, a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma cancer of the blood.
He received multiple treatments in May and June, and after doctors indicated that the treatments wouldn’t interfere with his coaching duties, he decided that he would continue to coach the Tigers in 2015.
“I made the decision in May, after visiting with my family, that I wanted to keep coaching, as long as I felt good and had the energy I needed,” Pinkel said. “I felt great going into the season, but also knew that I would need to re-assess things at some point, and I set our bye week as the time when I would take stock of the future. After we played Vanderbilt (Oct. 24), I had a scheduled PET scan on Oct. 26th for reassessment, and then visited with my family and came to the decision on October 27ththat this would be my last year coaching. I still feel good physically, but I decided that I want to focus on enjoying my remaining years with my family and friends, and also have proper time to battle the disease and give full attention to that,” he said.
“It’s been an honor working with Gary since I joined the Mizzou family,” said Rhoades. “Gary is truly a coaching legend as the winningest coach at two Division I institutions while leaving a profound impact on a countless number of young men. We are extremely appreciative of all that he has done for Mizzou. It’s tough emotionally knowing that his fight with cancer is bringing his run to an end sooner than any of us thought. I want to commend Gary with how open he’s been with me the whole time, from the first day he came to my office in May and told me about his diagnosis, all the way to now and when he met with me personally on October 28th to tell me he’d made up his mind. He’s been nothing but first class in how he’s handled the situation the whole way.”
“I want to make very clear that I’m not doing poorly, and that this is a manageable disease, but it’s one that will never go away,” Pinkel said. “So many people have bigger struggles with other forms of cancer and other serious diseases, and I feel blessed that I’ve got something I can fight and still enjoy a good quality of life. I don’t know how many years I have left, but I want to turn my focus to life outside of the daily grind of football,” he said.
“Words can’t express how grateful I am to the University of Missouri and all of the amazing people who make it up, from the administration to the students and our fans. Obviously, I’m so appreciative to all of my coaches and athletes. Leaving them makes this decision so tough, but I do so feeling good that the Mizzou Football program is in a better place than it was when we came in 15 years ago. I feel that Mizzou is a great job at a great school and has so much going for it that they’ll find an outstanding coach to move the program forward,” Pinkel said.
Pinkel, 63, transformed Mizzou into a national program after taking over on Nov. 30, 2000, and will conclude his career as the winningest coach in school history. He’s amassed a 117-71 record at Mizzou in 15 seasons, and his 190 career wins stand as the 19th-most all-time in NCAA FBS history. Under his guidance, Mizzou won five conference divisional titles (2007, 2008, 2010, 2013, 2014), reached 10 bowl games (winning six) and had five teams post a final top-20 national ranking (including two top-five finishes). His Tigers posted winning seasons in 10-of-15 years, following a stretch where Mizzou had only two winning seasons in the 17 seasons (1984-2000) prior to his arrival. He was named the National Coach of the Year in 2007 by FieldTurf, and won conference coach of the year honors in 2007 (Big 12) and 2014 (SEC).
Two times, Pinkel likely had his Tigers one win away from playing for a national championship, as wins in the 2007 and 2013 conference championship games could have propelled MU into title game appearances. In 2007, Mizzou surged to the school’s first-ever number one national ranking since 1960 after a watershed win over rival Kansas at Arrowhead Stadium on Nov. 24, 2007, when the Tigers were ranked fourth and the Jayhawks second coming into the game. That team would eventually end the season with a school-record 12 wins that included a Cotton Bowl title and final national ranking of fourth.
Pinkel worked perhaps his finest coaching job in 2013, one year after Mizzou joined the vaunted Southeastern Conference and suffered an injury-plagued 5-7 season in 2012. Picked to finish sixth in the SEC Eastern Division by pre-season pundits, the Tigers jumped out to a 7-0 record and finished 11-1 and East Division champs. They would go on to a 12-win season, with another Cotton Bowl title, and final national ranking of fifth.
Pinkel’s emphasis on molding young men into successful student-athletes was evidenced by the great achievements they had in the classroom.
Mizzou has improved its NCAA Graduation Success Rate for nine straight years, and has graduated 97 percent of its seniors the past five seasons.
Getting athletes to the next level has been another mark of success for Pinkel and his program. In his time at Mizzou, 32 Tigers were selected in the NFL Draft, including seven in the first round. Mizzou had 12 players taken in the first round of the NFL Draft in the previous 64 years combined (1937-2001) prior to Pinkel taking over.
Pinkel came to Missouri after spending 10 very successful years as head coach at Toledo (1991-2000), where he amassed an impressive 73-37-3 record and left as UT’s all-time winningest coach. Prior to becoming a head coach, Pinkel learned the trade from one of the all-time great coaches, the legendary Don James. For 12 years as an assistant under James at Washington (1979-90), Pinkel helped guide the Huskies to a combined record of 104-37-2 (73.4%) and three Pac-10 Conference titles. He served as UW’s offensive coordinator for seven seasons (1984-90), and helped mold one of the nation’s most potent offensive attacks.
Pinkel played under James at Kent State University, where he was an all-conference and honorable mention All-American tight end. He received his bachelor of science degree in education from Kent in 1973, and did post-graduate studies at Kent and Bowling Green.
ST. JOSEPH – A season sweep of longtime Missouri Western volleyball nemesis Central Missouri was not to be as Missouri Western dropped a nail-biter to No. 13 Central Missouri on Senior Night in the MWSU Fieldhouse.
The match featured 35 ties and 16 lead changes with all three sets decided by two points and two going past 25 points. Central Missouri had to get to 26 to defeat Missouri Western in the first and 29 in the third. Missouri Western limited Central Missouri’s opportunities for kills, forcing the Jennies into 21 attack errors as UCM hit .194 on the night. Central Missouri did the same to Missouri Western, with the Griffon shitting .136 with 18 attack errors.
Shellby Taylor led Missouri Western with 10 kills on the night. Blair Russell finished with nine kills. Four Griffons finished with double-digit dig numbers: Kayla Ruff with 19, Audrey Keim with 16, and Jordan Chohon and Amanda Dalbey each had 13. Chohon also led the team with 32 assists.
After the match, Chohon, Jessie Thorup and Lindsey Partridge were honored as part of senior night festivities. Central Missouri allowed Thorup to open the second set with a serve for an ace. The senior’s season was ended last weekend at Fort Hays State due to injury.
The loss dropped Missouri Western to 21-8 overall and 12-5 in the MIAA. The team concludes the 2015 regular season, Saturday at Lindenwood and will await for its MIAA Tournament seeding and location of the first round game.
KANSAS CITY, MO – Louisville Slugger® and MLB Network announced Thursday that Kendrys Morales has been named the 2015 Silver Slugger Award winner at Designated Hitter in the American League. Morales becomes the eighth-different Royals player to win a Silver Slugger award (11th time overall), and first since designated hitter Billy Butler in 2012.
The Louisville Slugger Silver Slugger Award winners are decided by a vote of Major League Baseball managers and coaches who select the players they determine to be the best offensive producers at each position in the American and National Leagues. Selections are based on a combination of offensive statistics, including batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage, as well as the managers’ and coaches’ general impressions of a player’s overall offensive value. Managers and coaches are not allowed to vote for players on their own teams. Tabulation of the balloting is verified by the accounting firm of Mountjoy Chilton Medley LLP.
Morales, 32, signed a free agent contract with the Royals last December 16 and enjoyed a bounce-back year, hitting .290 with 41 doubles, two triples, 22 homers, while becoming the first KC player to drive in 100 or more runs (106) since Butler in 2012. His 41 doubles tied for fourth in the American League, while his RBI total ranked him sixth. The switch-hitter led the A.L. and ranked second in the Majors, driving in 53 runs with two outs, which also set a Royals record for a single-season. He hit .337 (68-for-202) with two down, which was good for fifth in the Junior Circuit. He also blasted four home runs and collected 10 RBI in 13 postseason starts this year. Morales hit a pair of solo shots in Game #1 of the ALDS vs. Houston, marking the fifth multi-homer game by a Royals player in the postseason.
St. Joseph, Mo. – Kim Huss, varsity volleyball and varsity track coach at Bishop LeBlond High School, has been named the St. Joseph high school coach of the year by St. Joseph Sports Inc.
Huss has been the varsity volleyball coach for the past 11 years and the varsity coed track coach the past seven years. Her volleyball program just completed the school’s most successful season in program history finishing with a 35-2-3 record and a third place finish in Missouri Class 2. In addition, the 2015 LeBlond girls track team finished fourth in state Class 2.
Her volleyball teams have won the district championship nine times in the past 10 years and have won at least 20 games every season, and have been sectional champions five of those years. The LB volleyball team advanced to the state final four in 2012 (4th place) and again in the 2015 season. They have been four-time Midland Empire Conference Champions. In the past 11 years there have been 27 volleyball players earn Academic All-State honors, and the team earned an American Volleyball Coaches Association Team Academic Award for the 2014-15 academic year. Her career record for volleyball is 295-76-25.
In the past five years under her leadership, the LeBlond track team has had 14 state track medalists who have broken eight school records. Last spring every participant who qualified for the state meet brought home at least one medal. Additionally, in 2015 there were 11 track athletes who earned Academic All-State honors.
In addition to her coaching duties, she is a biology and dual-credit science teacher, the faculty sponsor for Student Council and a co-sponsor for LeBlond’s campus ministry program. This was her fourth nomination for Coach of the Year, having previously been nominated in 2007, 2009, and 2013.
LeBlond principal Jeff Sullivan said the honor is well-deserved for Coach Huss, “Her impact on the athletic development of our students is considerable, but more importantly, she is developing life skills, Christian service and leadership skills, and spirituality traits that will serve our students throughout their lives.”
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Women’s Basketball announced the signing of Jordan Chavis to a National Letter of Intent on Thursday. Chavis is a 5-7 guard from Central Davidson High School in Lexington, North Carolina.
“Jordan has great court vision and a very high basketball IQ,” head coach Robin Pingeton said. “She has great handles and can score in a variety of ways.”
As a junior at New Hope Christian Academy in Thomasville, North Carolina, Chavis averaged 9.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.3 steals per game. She drained a team-best 45 shots from beyond the arc for a New Hope squad that went 29-2, won the National Independent School Athletic Association National Championship and finished last season ranked No. 24 nationally by USA Today. During her sophomore year, Chavis averaged 6.3 points, 2.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.4 steals per contest.
Chavis was the Most Valuable Player of the Tina Thompson Classic and was ranked the No. 10 recruit in the southeast region by WNY Hoops Reports.
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Power forward Mitch Lightfoot has signed a National Letter of Intent to play men’s basketball at the University of Kansas, Bill Self announced Thursday. The Tucson, Arizona native is the first KU men’s basketball signee during November’s early signing period.
Rated as the No. 1 player to come out of the state of Arizona for the 2016 class, Lightfoot is a four-star recruit who is ranked No. 99 by ESPN100 and No. 117 by Rivals. He was named Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) Division II All-State First Team selection last season at Gilbert Christian High School, as well as an all-section first team honoree.
Lightfoot, listed at 6-foot-8 and 210 pounds, averaged 17.9 points, 9.9 rebounds and 3.9 blocked shot in leading Gilbert Christian to the AIA Division II state championship in 2014-15. He was named the player of the game in the state title contest where he scored 15 points.
“Mitch is one of those guys at 6-foot-8 that can play the power forward position and maybe even a little small forward in time,” Self said. “He gives us great versatility and is a guy that knows how to play with other good players. He will develop himself into one of the premier players in our program.”
As a sophomore in 2013-14, Lightfoot averaged 15.0 points, 10.7 rebounds and 4.0 blocked shots per contest and was the Southern Arizona Player of the Year and all-section first team honoree. As a freshman, he averaged 12.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.8 blocked shots per outing and was the only frosh named to the All-Southern Arizona team earning third team honors.
No stranger to KU, Lightfoot was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and still has many family members who live in the Kansas City area. The Lightfoot family moved to Tucson when he was six-years-old.
“He grew up loving the Jayhawks before moving out to Arizona,” Self said. “Norm (Roberts) was the point man in Mitch’s recruitment and did a great job with his family. After we got to know his immediate family and his extended family, it became very apparent he was a great fit. Everyone knew after visiting with him and his family that he was a top priority. We’re all excited to be able to work with him on a daily basis.”
Self indicated there are still some more signees ahead for the Jayhawks.
“We would really like to sign four,” Self said. “We got off to a great start when we signed Mitchell Lightfoot. We have to sign some size. Losing Hunter (Michelson), Jamari (Traylor) and Perry (Ellis) and then with a great chance of someone else will probably leave early, we’re probably looking at replacing four of our top big guys up front. Even though our backcourt are underclassmen, we anticipate that at least one of those guys will have the opportunity to maybe move on to the next level after the completion of this season.”
COLUMBIA, Mo. – It all started back in 2007 when Mizzou Football wore white jerseys and gold pants as QB Chase Daniel led No. 4 Mizzou to a 36-28 victory over No. 2 Kansas at Arrowhead Stadium. That began a tradition that led to gold jerseys in 2008 and Nike Beast Mode uniforms in 2009. With Mizzou returning to Arrowhead for the first time since 2011 this Saturday against BYU, the Tigers will once again don special Nike uniforms to continue the tradition.
Prior to the season, Mizzou Assistant Athletic Director for Equipment Don Barnes came up with a uniform concept that Mizzou had never worn: a white base jersey-pant combo with black numbers and an anthracite Tiger stripe overlay accompanied by a white helmet equipped with a chrome secondary Tiger logo and facemask. The uniform combination will also feature gloves with the anthracite Tiger stripe pattern. Sticking with tradition, Barnes and the entire Football staff decided that Arrowhead would be the perfect place to unveil the new uniform combination. Below is a look at the history of special uniforms worn at Arrowhead.
2007: In what was arguably the biggest game for Mizzou in the Big 12 era, Gary Pinkel and company decided to bring back a uniform combo that had been a fan favorite for years. Mizzou had not worn the gold-pant, white-jersey combo in years despite fans calling for Coach Pinkel to bring the look back. With the eyes of the nation on Arrowhead for a top-five showdown that November night in 2007, Mizzou surprised the fans with the gold pants and the rest was history. Mizzou went on to defeat Kansas, 36-28, and earn the No. 1 ranking in the country the following week.
2008: One year removed from surprising fans with the white-jersey, gold-pant look, Mizzou flipped the script and unveiled gold jerseys for the first time in years. The uniforms garnered such high praise from Mizzou fans that they were arguably the inspiration for one of the fans’ favorite current looks – gold jerseys and black pants.
2009: After the success that Mizzou Football had on the field both in 2007 and 2008, Nike chose Mizzou as one of 10 schools to wear special Pro Combat uniforms during the 2009 season. Mizzou chose to once again unveil these against Kansas at Arrowhead. Mizzou’s Pro Combat uniforms were called ‘Beast Mode’ and that moniker was embroidered on the collars of each jersey. Inspiration for the white jersey, anthracite pant and black-on-black helmet combo was the speed of a tiger and the fact that Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri is home to many of the nation’s stealth bombers. Black-on-black helmets and pants signified that speed and stealth-like nature.
2015: Wanting to do something that had never been done at Mizzou, Barnes and his staff chose to go with this year’s look. As detailed above, the white-jersey, white-pant look is accompanied by a helmet with a chrome secondary Tiger logo and chrome face masks. The jerseys feature black numbers with an anthracite Tiger stripe overlay outlined in chrome.
The Whiteout set for Saturday is one of four uniform themes Mizzou put into place for the season, including the Tigers Stripe (now in its second season) and the annual #GoldRush and #Blackout games. The monochromatic uniform look will also be featured during Mizzou’s game vs. Tennessee next Saturday (Nov. 21) at Memorial Stadium. As in year’s past, the final home game of the season will serve as the team’s #Blackout game in which the Tigers will don all-black uniforms. The complete uniform combination for that game will be released Friday, Nov. 20.
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Junior Wesley Iwundu poured in a career-high 23 points to go with a career-tying 10 rebounds, as Kansas State won its season opener over Maryland-Eastern Shore, 80-53, in front of 11,389 fans in Bramlage Coliseum on Friday night.
