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National champion Eagles want Mullinnix at Kirkwood
by Gregory R. Norfleet · Sports · April 27, 2017
The defending national champion Kirkwood Community College Eagles women’s basketball team offered a West Branch senior a walk-on role for the 2017-18 season.
Haley Mullinnix, daughter of Jeff and Kelly Mullinnix, a point guard for the West Branch High School Bears girls basketball team, said she is pleased for “the opportunity to continue to play the sport I love.”
“It’s definitely a big accomplishment,” she said of joining the Eagles, which posted an unprecedented 37-0 record after winning the National Junior College Athletic Assoc. national tournament on March 25.
Bears Head Girls Basketball Coach Jarod Tylee called it a “great opportunity” for Mullinnix to get a call to play on a team which defeated everyone by an average 30.5 points.
The 5-4 point guard for the Bears scored 344 points this past season, or 15 points per game. She shot 37.3 percent from the field, 32.4 percent from the free-throw line and 68.3 percent from three-point range. She racked up 60 assists, 71 steals and a block, as well as 77 rebounds — 14 on offense and 63 on defense.
She said Kirkwood Head Women’s Coach Kim Muhl attended a West Branch game during Mullinnix’s junior year — to watch a player on the opposing team.
“He said I caught his eye,” Mullinnix said. “Since then he’s been checking up on me.”
Haley said “a lot of people look down on junior college,” but she said she welcomes the challenge to play at the next level.
Tylee said making the team does not guarantee minutes on the court.
“She’s going to have to start all over, and she’s got to work hard to improve herself, and to prove herself,” he said.
It’s the “national champion” part that makes Mullinnix’s selection so special, he said. This is Coach Muhl’s seventh national title since 1997.
“That’s what I’m most excited about,” the Bears coach said. “She wants the opportunity to compete, and this is a very competitive team. I foresee good things happening.”
Haley plans to pursue an associate’s degree in graphic design, likely enrolling in a four-year university after that. While attending WBHS, she earned nearly 30 dual credits and could finish her college degree early. However, she said she will likely still attend for two years.
Kirkwood offers a summer league in June and “open gym” practices Mullinnix said she plans to attend until official practices begin Oct. 1.
The season runs through March, with road games up to five hours away.
“(My parents) are pretty excited to see me continue my basketball career,” Haley said.
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