Kelcey Hinz scores 28 points and grabs 24 rebounds in Kansas Wesleyan's win over Sterling

Kelcey Hinz always saves a big performance for the big moment.

She did that again Thursday night against Sterling.

Hinz's double-double of 28 points and 24 rebounds helped the Coyotes upset the eighth-ranked Warriors, 85-82, in overtime at Mabee Arena.

The win was the Coyotes' first over the Warriors since an 80-76 victory on Jan. 18, 2020, at Sterling. In that game, Hinz had 31 points and 25 rebounds.

Hinz's rebounds helped Wesleyan edge Sterling on the glass, 49-43.

"It's big," said Hinz, whose 24 rebounds were one shy of tying the school record she set in 2020. "Anytime we can outscore them on rebounds and being on that side, it's always a good advantage. It helps us on our end.

"We knew it was going to be tough and that's just how it is. It's every opportunity and every chance we can get. It doesn't matter what number you are ... we're just gonna go out and fight every time."

KWU won its third straight to improve to 9-2 overall and 5-1 in the Kansas Conference. Sterling fell to 8-1, 4-1.

Wesleyan coach Ryan Showman said Hinz made her presence felt in the post the way she does on a nightly basis.

Hinz's layup with 5.6 seconds left in regulation tied the game at 72 after the Coyotes had trailed by 13 points in the third quarter.

"She was just there to clean up shots," Showman said. "She was there to post the part and finish. I thought she did a really great job of finding the soft spot in the defense. "She worked through some double teams (and) she was able to find some open people. I'm just really proud of her. It was a big-time performance.

"It was something we needed against a great team like Sterling."

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Showman knew Kansas Wesleyan needed to play a full 40-minute game to upset Sterling

Showman knew it was going to take a full 40-minute effort to upset Sterling.

Trailing by 13 points late in the third quarter, Showman told his team just to take it one possession at a time.

"We said going into the fourth quarter, 'That was their run, now we're gonna have ours.' I thought that fourth quarter was just one possession at a time," Showman said. "They made plays and they did what (they) had to do — one possession at a time — but I couldn't be more proud of this one tonight."

Wesleyan had Sterling on the ropes early, leading 18-14 at the end of the first quarter, but then saw a nine-point advantage evaporate as Sterling went up 36-34 at halftime.

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The Warriors made their run in the third quarter and led 60-49 heading to the fourth.

"We always know that they're going to come out and they're going to make that run," Hinz said. "We know that once we build them to a lead, it'll be a turnaround. We're gonna stop and we're gonna come back every time and fight our way back, and that's exactly what we did.

"(That) just proves how great we can be."

Gabby Mureeba makes plays down the stretch to help Kansas Wesleyan force overtime

It wasn't just Hinz's double-double that helped the Coyotes to the upset victory. Gabby Mureeba made huge plays to help them force overtime.

She scored eight of her 21 points in the fourth quarter, including two 3-pointers.

"That's not her specialty," Showman said. "She's really good straight line to the basket, getting to the rim or pulling up. She knew she needed to make some plays and she stepped up and did it.

"You look at Gabby and you see that this whole year. The first 10 games, she's been huge for us."

In addition to Hinz and Mureeba, the Coyotes got 18 points from Amanda Hill and 11 from LaMyah Ricks.

Sterling was led by Emilley Hendrixson's 25 points. Bailey Albright had 23 and Taya Wilson 15 points and 13 rebounds before fouling out with 3:42 left in regulation.

Kansas Wesleyan men cruise to victory over Sterling

The Kansas Wesleyan men used 17 players and had 15 of them score in a 102-44 rout of the Warriors.

KWU improved to 9-1, 5-1 KCAC, while Sterling fell to 2-9, 0-5.

Cory Kaplan led the Coyotes with 23 points, while Marcel Dean and Alex LittleJohn each had 11 off the bench.

"No matter who we put on the floor, I think there's confidence that they can get the job done," KWU coach Anthony Monson said. "Cory had a big second half for us. Marcel had a big second half for us.

"We played a little sluggish in the first half. Just didn't really take care of the ball. We've got a lot of weapons on this team. We've just got to make sure that every night we're playing hard and guarding on the defensive end."

Dean said the Coyotes continue to push each other in practice.

"We just practice hard," he said. "We have a lot of talent (in) both groups. It makes everybody better."

KWU led from start to finish. They were up 41-23 at halftime and scored 61 points in the second half.

The Coyotes shot 55.1% from the field and made 12 3-pointers on the evening while holding Sterling to 29.8%.

Sterling was led by Daven Dunbar and Jalen Jackson with eight points each.

KWU wraps up its three-game week with a trip to Hillsboro to face Tabor on Saturday. The women's game tips at 5 p.m. with the men to follow at 7.

Dylan Sherwood has been a sports reporter for the Salina Journal since August 2019. He can be reached at dsherwood@salina.com or on Twitter @DSherwoodSJ

This article originally appeared on Salina Journal: How Kelcey Hinz's double-double helped Kansas Wesleyan defeat Sterling