Kirsch at 1,000 Points & 1,000 Rebounds
Kearney, Neb. – Super senior Klaire Kirsch reached 1,000 career points and No. 26/30 Nebraska Kearney held Newman to seven first half points as part of a 59-35 win Friday night at the Health & Sports Center. UNK improves to 11-2 (4-1) while the Jets from Wichita fall to 4-6 (1-4). The Lopers are at Newman on February 4th. Kirsch (Rapid City) joins UNK Athletic Hall of Famers Tom Kropp ('75) and Dusty Jura ('07) as the only Lopers to go for 1k in both points and rebounds in a career. She reached the carom mark last Thursday night at Missouri Western and reached four figures in points in the second half tonight on, fittingly, a put back bucket. The wing recorded her first double double (13 rebounds, 12 points) of the year to now be at 1,002 points and 1,028 rebounds. "It's pretty unique. You usually have one or the other," said UNK head coach Carrie Eighmey. "To be able to accomplish both of those things is pretty big deal and says a lot about Klaire's work ethic and how hard she plays. I'm not sure I'll ever coach another thousand, thousand player." Kirsch would've likely gotten to 1k/1k last winter but missed five games due to injury and six games were wiped off the books her junior season because of the pandemic. Facing one of Division II's top defensive units, Newman tallied just four points in the first quarter and three in the second. They were 2 of 22 (1 of 10 threes) from the field over the first 20 minutes to trail 26-7 heading into the locker room. "We did a great job early on of using our defense to create offense. We were able to get out in transition and score some quick points," said UNK head coach Carrie Eighmey of the 8-0 lead. "We stalled out after that but they are a good half-court defensive team. If you don't shoot great from the perimeter, you might have a hard time scoring. We were better in that area later in the game." The Jets shot almost 50% in the second half but UNK hit four of its six threes in the fourth quarter and was plus 10 on the glass to never let the lead slip below 15 points. The glass work included 14 on the offensive end which led to 15 second chance points. Kirsch finished 5 of 9 from the field to reach her offensive output with Iowa redshirt senior post Shiloh McCool at a team-high 14 points thanks to 7 of 14 shooting. Next, Iowa redshirt junior point guard Sarah Schmitt had seven points and six offensive rebounds with Iowa redshirt junior reserve forward Meg Burns at nine points and three steals. "They rely on their forwards to score a lot of points. I thought our forwards did a good job defensively in the paint," said Eighmey. "With a little bit less depth at that position, Meg gave us some good minutes on both ends of the floor." Neman post Britney Ho (14 points, 12 rebounds) had a double double with guard Maddie Spagnola at eight points and three steals. UNK faces Central Oklahoma Sunday at 2 p.m. The Bronchos (4-5, 1-4) led Fort Hays State tonight but fell in the end, 57-48.
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