NJCAA DII Women's Basketball Championship Preview

NJCAA National Championship:No. 16 North Platte Community College will open the 2021 NJCAA DII Women's Basketball Championship on Tuesday, April 20 at 6 p.m. CT against No. 1 Kirkwood (IA). The NJCAA Championship is being held at the Tarlton Complex in Hickory, N.C.

About North Platte:Knights enter the NJCAA DII Women's Basketball Championship with an overall record of 10-11, having punched their ticket to the dance with a victory over Rochester Community and Technical College in the Northwest Plains District Championship on April 10.

North Platte ranks sixteenth in the NJCAA in offensive rebounds per game, averaging 14.8 per contest this season. Knights also rank twenty-third this season in total points (1308) and twenty-eighth inrebounds per game averaging 40.7 per contest.

North Platte is led by All-Region IX forward, Diamond Moore-Heath who averages 13.3 points per game this season. Moore-Heath is also the Knights top rebounder, grabbing an average of 9.4 rebounds per game this season. Her 78 offensive rebounds this season, ranks her fifth in the nation amongst NJCAA DII student-athletes.

Kayla Pope and Janay Brauer round out the Knights double-digit scorers averaging 12.3 and 10.4 points per game, respectively. Pope leads the Knights in assists per game (2.9), and steals per game (2.0).

About Kirkwood:The Eagles enter the NJCAA DII Women's Basketball Championship with an overall record of 21-1. Kirkwood opened the season on a 14-game winning streak. During that stretch, the Eagles recorded six games of eighty points or higher, and their average margin of victory was over thirty-two points.

The Eagles earned their ticket to the NJCAA DII Women's Championship by defeating Southwestern Community College in the North Central A District Championship, 80-50.

Eagles rank first in the country in field goal percentage (46.7 percent), fourth in three-point percentage (35.2 percent), fifth in field goals made per game (31.3), and eighth in points per game (80.1).

Kirkwood has four athletes averaging double-digits this season including Kortney Drake (12.0), Kemara Watson (11.5), Karsyn Stratton (10.4), and Ashley Tull (10.2). Tull leads the Eagles in almost every statistical category including rebounds per game (8.7), blocks per game (2.1), steals per game (1.5), and field goal percentage (57.5 percent). Her field goal percentage is eighth best in the country, while her 46 blocks rank her fourth amongst NJCAA DII student-athletes.

Coaches:
Jeff Thurman (3rd season at North Platte Community College)
Kim Muhl (32nd season at Kirkwood Community College)

Livestream: All matches will be web-streamed on thenjcaa.org/network.

Twitter:Follow @NPCCKnights for coverage of all games including score updates and statistics.