Miliakere Koyamainavure Tritons Win Region XI Title

The Iowa Central women’s basketball team’s current hot streak will continue all the way to the NJCAA Division II National Tournament in Peoria, Ill., next week. Iowa Central’s Cinderella run continued Saturday at the Region XI Tournament as it followed Friday night’s upset of No. 12 DMACC with a stunning 71-65 upset over No. 7 Kirkwood.

“I’m so proud of these girls, they never quit and continued to get better every day,” said head coach Craig Carlson. “To beat DMACC and Kirkwood on back-to-back days shows that we can compete with anyone.”

Iowa Central (24-8 overall) needed an unforgettable rally to complete its improbable championship run. The Tritons trailed 33-32 at halftime to the defending Region XI champions, and Kirkwood quickly  turned it into a seven-point advantage with 14 minutes to play. Undaunted, Iowa Central put together a stunning run that eventually delivered Iowa Central its fourth Region XI championship.

Miliakere Koyamainavure led Iowa Central with 16 points and eight rebounds. Koyamainavure was especially helpful from the charity stripe as she went 10-for-13; the rest of the team went just 4-for-13.  Theresa Doyle had 12 points on four three-point baskets and Babaye Oja had nine points and a team-high 12 rebounds.

Lydia Harvey had five points but was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player for her work in the three tournament games.  Doyle and Katie Dentlinger were also selected to the All-Tournament Team.

The win was also a milestone for Craig Carlson as it was his 200th career win.“It’s been a crazy eight years, but I couldn’t have done it without so many great girls over the years,” said Carlson. “We’ve had a lot of quality, hard-working girls come through our program.”

Iowa Central’s previous Region XI titles came in 1987, 2000 and in 2011. Iowa Central finished fourth at the NJCAA National Tournament in 2011. Iowa Central made it to Saturday’s game after a physical 58-56 win over No. 12 DMACC on Friday in Keokuk. Harvey led the way with 14 points. The Tritons held on for the win as DMACC nearly erased a 13-point Iowa Central lead at halftime. The Tritons made nine three-pointers in the game.

Iowa Central will find out its opponent for its first round game of the NJCAA National Tournament this week. It will be held at the Illinois Central College CougarPlex in East Peoria, Ill.