WAVERLY - It was a farewell party befitting a great athletic venue Saturday, Feb. 18, as Wartburg swept its final men's and women's basketball doubleheader in Knights Gymnasium in front of a capacity crowd of fans, friends and alumni. Head coach Dick Peth's men's team clinched a share of their second straight and the program's 21st overall Iowa Conference title, toppling Cornell 88-66, while the women's squad used a strong second half stretch to upend the Rams 62-44.
The No. 22-ranked Wartburg men used a 14-7 run over the final 4:36 of the first half to wrap up their share of the IIAC title. The Knights (19-5 overall, 12-4 IIAC) opened the lead out to as many as 23 points in the second half before a late run by Cornell (3-22 overall, 2-14 IIAC) trimmed the margin to 12 points in the final eight minutes.
Senior guard Jason Steege led a balanced scoring attack, scoring 26 points on six-of-nine shooting from the field and a 10-of-10 effort at the charity stripe. Steege dropped in four three-pointers in the process, passing former standout Patrick Morrison’s former career record of 215 in the process as he moved to 217 for his career. Senior center Nate Schmidt added 20 points, concluding a 46-point week, while senior forward/center Cassidy Peterson turned in 11 points and eight rebounds. Jeff Ecker led Cornell with 14 points.
Cornell got out to a fast start in the women’s game, leading 19-6 nine minutes in. Wartburg, concluding a 7-17 overall and 4-12 league season, roared back with a 19-4 stretch of their own for a 23-23 halftime tie. The Knights added a 24-5 stretch to open the second half and never looked back en route to a 62-44 win, ending a nine-game skid. Sophomore forward Elizabeth Campbell tallied 19 points, while sophomore center Megan Hendricks finished with a double-double of 18 points and 12 rebounds. Anna Skaggs tallied 12 and Katie Morris finished with 10 as the Rams (7-18 overall, 5-11 IIAC) earned a berth in the league’s postseason tourney despite the loss.
NOTES – Wartburg’s women conclude their history in Knights Gymnasium with a 213-88 record, a winning percentage of 70.7…The Knights men’s team has at least one more contest in the building as they host the winner of Tuesday’s conference tournament quarterfinal between Buena Vista and Luther Thursday, Feb. 23, at 7 p.m. in one of two semifinals. Coe, who owns the other half of the league’s championship, earned the top seed in the postseason tournament.