Kirkwood’s regular-season finale was the Marshalltown Community College women’s basketball team’s season finale.

As the Eagles prepared to take the top seed in the upcoming NJCAA Region XI Tournament, MCC took time to honor its three sophomores.

On or off the court, the Tiger trio is going to be sorely missed.

Sixth-ranked Kirkwood captured an 81-35 triumph over the MCC women on Wednesday night at the Student Activity Center, doing what it does so well year in and year out. The Eagles (26-3, 20-2), winners of two of the last four NJCAA Division II national championships, never saw their lead dip below double digits after getting out to a 14-3 lead on MCC.

The host Tigers (8-22, 5-17), long since eliminated from the regional tournament, never quit but never stood a chance.

Even still, MCC head coach Dylan Longley is pleased with the direction of his program because of those three sophomores.

“It’s the crappy part about JUCO (junior college) is that right when they’re starting to figure it out, they’re gone,” said Longley. “It sucks that it’s over, but those three are really, really good people and they’re all gonna get to go on and play at the next level.

“I think they’re the first true sophomore class that’s like, hey, we’ve actually got kids that can play that four-year coaches are interested in. It’s not about me, but before I got here, that wasn’t happening very often. They’re legitimate offers and legitimate places, so I’m really happy for them to be able to go on and we did our job here developing them, getting them exposure and moving them on.”

Longley’s three sophomores will likely join the ranks of former Tigers who went on to play after a year or two at MCC. And he couldn’t be happier — or sadder.

“Last year was a very difficult year for us, even though we had a decent record,” Longley said. “It was a pain in the ass every day, it was attitudes every single day.

“But these kids are awesome, especially Cherry and Nellie. Those two decided to come back and lay a foundation that I’ve been trying to lay for three years. A lot of our team chemistry and camaraderie and how we act with each other and how we treat each other is because of those two.”

Heartwell transfered in from Southeastern CC in Creston and fit right in, according to Longley.

For all the sophomores did for Longley’s squad in the locker room, they were just as vital come game time.

Cherry led the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference in blocks per game (2.5) and was fourth in rebounding (9.3). Stewart ranked first in steals (3.0), ninth in scoring (12.8) and rebounding (7.5) and was 19th in assists (2.1). Heartwell was 11th in blocks (0.7) and 18th in assists (2.1).

The numbers held up again on Wednesday night, even in a lopsided loss.

Stewart scored a team-high 11 points to go with five rebounds, five steals and four assists, Cherry had three points, nine rebounds and a blocked shot, and Heartwell finished with nine points and five boards.

The Tigers simply couldn’t hang with the perennial powerhouse from Cedar Rapids.

Eleven different players scored for the Eagles, who streaked to their ninth-straight win. Olivia Wren scored 16 points Madison Stowater had 13 points, and Erianna Moeschter finished with 11 points and six rebounds for Kirkwood.

The Eagles led 21-7 after the first quarter and 39-22 at the half before outscoring MCC 30-6 in the third quarter alone.

“I think the reality is, it’s just Kirkwood,” Longley said. “You watch them play and they do what they do. We were down 19 in the first half but we could have been down 35, they just decided to miss shots.

“I thought we competed, I thought their energy was good. This one, yeah, it sucks. It’s just kind of a throwaway game.”

Kirkwood 81, MCC 35

KIRKWOOD (26-3, 20-2) — Wren 5-14 2-2 16, Blakely 4-7 0-0 9, Torry 1-3 1-1 3, Sullivan 2-3 0-0 4, Moeschter 5-7 1-1 11, Hudson 2-4 0-0 6, Roling 1-1 0-0 3, Stowater 6-8 0-0 13, Bailey 1-4 0-0 2, Celeste 0-0 0-0 0, Crum 3-6 2-2 8, Mosley 0-1 0-0 0, Foster 3-5 0-1 6. TOTALS 33-63 6-7 81.

MCC (8-22, 5-17) — Stewart 4-12 2-2 11, Williams 0-6 1-1 1, Mcqueen 1-9 0-0 3, Cherry 1-6 1-2 3, Heartwell 3-9 2-2 9, Custard 1-3 0-1 2, Nelson 1-3 0-0 3, Snell 1-6 0-0 3. TOTALS 12-54 6-8 35.

KIRKWOOD 21 18 30 12 — 81

MCC 7 15 6 7 — 35

3-Point Goals–Kirkwood 9-23 (Wren 4-11, Hudson 2-4, Blakely 1-1, Roling 1-1, Stowater 1-3, Torry 0-1, Bailey 0-1, Mosley 0-1), MCC 5-25 (Heartwell 1-2, Nelson 1-3, Snell 1-3, Stewart 1-5, Mcqueen 1-7, Williams 0-1, Cherry 0-2). Rebounds–Kirkwood 42 (Blakely, Moeschter, Foster 6), MCC 26 (Cherry 9). Assists–Kirkwood 17 (Torry 4), MCC 5 (Stewart 4). Total Fouls–Kirkwood 9, MCC 9. Fouled Out–none.