The men’s and women’s basketball teams traveled to Waverly, Iowa on February 12 for an American Rivers Conference (ARC) showdown with the Knights of Wartburg college.  

Women:  

The women’s team knew they would be in for a tough task going up against a very talented Wartburg team who came into the contest boasting a record of 19-3, and 11-2 in ARC play. Their record was good enough to give the Knights the number 9 ranking in the latest polls.  

The Beavers knew they would have to make some adjustments this time around. Previously the Knights came into Siebens Fieldhouse and handed the Beavers an 82-42 loss. With that in mind the Beavers took the court inside Levick Arena.  

Wartburg was able to jump out to an early lead and they never looked back. After the first quarter the Knights lead the Beaver by a score of 24-11. The Knights were led by Alecia Kimball who went a perfect 4-4 from the field and 3-3 from long distance. She tallied 14 points. But the Knights played a very balanced game and had 3 players in double digit scoring with every single player that got in the game scoring more than 3 points.  

The Beavers had a tough shooting night. They were led by senior Destiny Einerwold and freshman Vanessa Hamlett who both tallied 11 points. Hamlett was a bright spot for the Beavers on a relatively otherwise tough night. Hamlett was able to score 11 points on perfect shooting going 5 for 5 from the field. She was also able to lead the Beavers in rebounding with 5. The Beavers shot just 16% from three and finally dropped the game to the Knights by a score of 95-59.

Men:  

The men had been struggling as of lately by losing 3 straight games before getting back on track when the beat the Dubuque Spartans on February 8 by the score of 90-83. Now it was Wednesday and a huge matchup with the Wartburg Knights loomed. Not only was this a big game for the Beavers but a big game for the Knights as well. The Knights sat in 6th place before the game and holding onto the last spot for a berth in the conference tournament. Meanwhile the Beavers, with a win would clinch a spot in the conference tournament.

The Beavers had handed the Knights an 89-75 loss earlier in the year. But this game was different. The Knights were rolling as of late and the Beavers would be without starting center Noah Schmitt. The game was close at the beginning with the Beavers leading. Until the Knights pulled ahead half through the first half by a score of 25-24.

But the Beavers quickly answered and put themselves up 41-34 at the break. The Beavers came out of the halftime break firing on all cylinders. They outscored the Knights by 17 in the second half and gave themselves a 91-67 victory and a berth to the conference tournament.  

The Beavers were led by senior Timothy Jeffries who scored 22 points. Michael Demers hit 4 threes on this way to an 18-point performance. Brendan Gary came off the bench and collected his second career double double with 16 points and 11 rebounds. The Beavers canned 13 threes, which is the team’s most in a conference game this season.  

The Knights were paced by freshman Jack Molstead. He scored 17 points and gave the Beavers fits from behind the three-point line all night long. Max Smith Drahos had 13 but their valiant efforts were not enough to keep the Knights on pace with the red-hot shooting Beavers. With the victory the Beavers go to 8-5 in conference play.  

The Beavers finish out the season with games against Coe, Central and Simpson then they will be in action in the American Rivers Conference tournament.