The Marshalltown Community College baseball program is hosting its instructional MCC Hitting League again this winter.

MCC head coach Anthony Everman and his staff are conducting twice-weekly clinics that will continue through January. Players will be taught proper hitting technique and will learn a specific set of drills to enhance their development. Once players have a reasonable grasp on hitting technique there will be live hitting incorporated into the instruction. Players will be divided by age with 6 to 9 hitting from 6-7 p.m. Players age 10 to 13 will hit from 7-8 p.m., and players age 14 to 18 will train from 8-9 p.m.

Spots are available on Monday and Wednesday nights through the MCC athletics website. For more information, go to https://mccathletics.com/sports/bsb/Hitting_League.

MCC basketball putting on Tiger Hoops Clinic for youngsters

Marshalltown Community College is hosting the Tigers Hoops Clinic on Saturday, Jan. 4, at the Student Activity Center for boys and girls in grades 1-8.

The camp will be conducted by MCC men’s basketball coach Ryan Flack and his team, focusing on offensive and defensive fundamentals, shooting mechanics, and ball handling and dribbling. There will also be competitions and prizes.

Participants will be separated into two age groups, with grades 1-4 competing from noon to 1:30 p.m., and grades 5-8 going from 2-4 p.m.

Cost is $30 for the Early Bird deadline (Dec. 6), $40 if registered by Dec. 13, or $45 thereafter. A camp T-shirt is included.

For more information, or to register, contact Coach Flack at (641) 844-5685 or Ryan.Flack@iavalley.edu.

Tiger women hold off Faith Baptist Bible College

The Marshalltown Community College women’s basketball team got back to its winning ways with a 62-51 victory, handing Faith Baptist Bible College its first loss of the season on Tuesday night at the Student Activity Center.

MCC (8-3) broke open its slim lead by outscoring the Eagles (8-1) by a 19-11 margin in the third quarter.

The Tigers had four scorers in double figures, led by Mia Sao-Martinez with 15 points. Kimari Hall had 12 points, and Shenell Stewart added 11 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Destiny Sao-Martinez contributed seven points and six rebounds off the bench, while Kenijae Cherry had six points and a team-high 11 boards.

Miriam Beenken led Faith Baptist with a game-high 16 points, and Katie Costello added 14 points.

The Tigers are back at home Thursday night with a 5:30 p.m. game against Iowa Western.

West Marshall boys beat PCM for 2-0 start

STATE CENTER — The West Marshall boys’ basketball team improved to 2-0 with a 57-46 win over PCM in Tuesday’s Heart of Iowa Conference opener.

The Trojans were led by Lucas Barnes with 12 points and six rebounds. Noah DeSotel and DJ Ridout scored 11 points apiece, and Cash Johnston finished with nine points and six rebounds.

Cutler VandeLune led PCM (0-1) with 12 points and Chase Wagaman added nine.

Spartan boys slam Denver in NICL basketball

GRUNDY CENTER — The Grundy Center boys’ basketball team opened the season with a shellacking of Denver, topping the Cyclones 81-46 on Tuesday night.

Jalen Kirkpatrick posted a monstrous double-double of 25 points and 17 rebounds to lead the Spartans (1-0). Judd Jirovsky scored 20 points off the bench, and Tiernan Vokes racked up 15 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Brayden Wallis totaled 10 points, while Brody Zinkula came away with eight assists.

Talan Lafrentz and Myles Matthias scored 12 points apiece to lead Denver (1-1), which trailed 40-30 at the half.

Balanced scoring helps Wolverines handle Twin Cedars

GARWIN — The GMG boys’ basketball team used a big second quarter to break free for an 85-51 triumph over Twin Cedars in Tuesday’s season-opening game for both clubs.

The Wolverines (1-0) outscored the Sabres 26-16 in the second quarter to take a 44-29 lead into halftime and continued to pull away.

Rider Kupka tallied 23 points to lead four GMG double-digit scorers. Colin Teske got 19 points, Connor Bryant added 17 points and Grady Dieleman had 12 to lead the Wolverines.

Holden Roberts scored a game-high 29 points, making four 3-pointers, to lead Twin Cedars.

Grundy Center girls narrowly edged by Denver

GRUNDY CENTER — A two-point advantage in the fourth quarter was the difference as Class 2A No. 10 Denver beat the Grundy Center girls’ basketball team 32-30 on Tuesday night.

Denver’s Grace Mullihan made 1-of-2 free throws with three seconds left and then deflected a Grundy Center pass going back up the court to run out the remaining time.

Denver (2-0) led by as many as seven points in the fourth quarter before a 7-0 Grundy Center surge erased the deficit.

Mullihan scored a game-high 13 points to lead the Cyclones. Brilee Ackerson added nine points.

Ava Mundt had 10 points and eight rebounds to lead Grundy Center (1-1). Karlee Lynch added nine points and four boards.

Lynch was fouled scoring a tough baseline shot to bring the Spartans within 31-30 but missed the tying free throw. Grundy Center couldn’t overcome a 5-for-14 performance at the free-throw line.