Ball movement sparks Iowa City High to a rout

CEDAR RAPIDS — After scoring just 41 points Saturday against Keokuk, Iowa City High stressed its passing game.

'Stressed?' Coach Bill McTaggart said. 'More like stressed out.'

The Class 5A second-rated Little Hawks played artful basketball Tuesday night and shredded Cedar Rapids Washington, 73-35, in a non-conference girls' contest between the Mississippi Valley Conference rivals at Washington High School.

'We worked a lot on moving the ball and getting open shots,' said junior Ashley Joens, who was the beneficiary of many of the unselfish feeds and scored 29 points in less than three quarters of court time.

Steals — 21 of them — led to open-court running, which led to easy baskets. The Little Hawks (12-0) shot 55.1 percent from the floor, and 22 of their 27 buckets were assisted.

'We were really aggressive on defense,' Joens said. 'And that led to a lot of layups.'

'It's the best we've played all year,' McTaggart said. 'We were nervous tonight. If we would have played like we did against Keokuk, we would have gotten beat tonight.'

Instead, it was a runaway. The Little Hawks had nine steals in the first quarter, and runs of 13-0 and 21-2 staked them to a 49-20 halftime lead.

Much of the second half was played under the 35-point continuous clock.

'The last two nights, we haven't matched the intensity of our opponents,' Washington Coach Chris James said. 'When things start going south, it can get to be a rout quickly, especially against a team like that, that's firing on all cylinders.'

Joens, a junior and an Iowa State commitment, combined with freshman sister Aubrey Joens to score City High's first 20 points. Aubrey Joens added 17 points.

Kenya Earl tacked on nine points, and Rose Marie Nkumu and Sydney Schroder combined for 12 assists and 12 steals.

Brittany Hoeger led Washington (5-7) with six points.

The teams meet again Feb. 7 at City High in a game that counts in the MVC standings.

City High hosts Cedar Rapids Xavier on Friday; Washington hosts Iowa City West.

IOWA CITY HIGH 73, C.R. WASHINGTON 35

At C.R. Washington

IOWA CITY HIGH (73): Rose Marie Nkumu 2-4 0-0 4, Sydney Schroder 1-3 1-2 3, Ashley Joens 10-14 7-8 29, Aubrey Joens 7-12 0-0 17, Kenya Earl 3-7 2-2 9, Christina Hora 1-3 0-0 3, Paige Rocca 1-3 0-0 3, Samantha Greving 2-2 0-1 4, Mikayla Lacey 0-0 1-2 1, Madelynn Fontana 0-0 0-0 0, Samantha Schroder 0-0 0-0 0, Ashley Kuennen 0-1 0-0 0, Shevonna Norris 0-0 0-0 0, Virginia Muturi 0-0 0-0 0, Skye Spencer 0-0 0-0. Totals 27-49 11-15 73.

C.R. WASHINGTON (35): Caitlin Riley 1-7 1-2 4, Brittany Hoeger 2-5 0-0 6, Jessi Puk 1-1 0-0 2, Jayla Johnson 1-3 2-2 4, Aubrey Moore 2-3 0-0 4, Grace Carey 0-1 3-4 3, Devon O'Donnell 0-2 0-0 0, Isa Truemper 1-4 0-0 3, Sandra Mia 2-4 0-0 4, Lindsay Parks 2-6 1-1 5, Sarah Altemeier 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 12-36 7-9 35.

Halftime: City 49, Washington 20. 3-point goals: City 8-15 (Syd.Schroeder 0-1, Ash.Joens 2-3, Aub.Joens 3-7, Earl 1-2, Hora 1-1, Rocca 1-1), Washington 4-15 (Riley 1-5, Hoeger 2-3, Johnson 0-1, Truemper 1-4, Mia 0-1, Parks 0-1). Team fouls: City 7, Washington 12. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: City 25 (Ash.Joens 9), Washington 24 (Johnson 5). Assists: City 22 (Nkumu, Syd.Schroder 6), Washington 6 (Riley, Puk 2). Steals: City 21 (Nkumu 7), Washington 7 (Riley 4). Turnovers: City 12, Washington 26.

l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com