No. 7 Kennedy survives at Jefferson with 4th-quarter run

CEDAR RAPIDS — They were on the ropes. Their coach admitted it.

'We were wobbling,' Tony Vis said, after his Class 5A seventh-ranked Cedar Rapids Kennedy Cougars overcame Cedar Rapids Jefferson's upset bid, 56-43, Tuesday night at Jeff. 'We were very, very nervous and didn't look like us.'

Jefferson had a 38-30 lead late in the third quarter and all the momentum. Then Carly Langhurst drained a 3-pointer and Ashley Hamilton followed suit.

Thus began a 15-0 run that put Kennedy (17-3) back on top and over the top, as it turned out.

'Some 3s went in,' Vis said. 'When the 3s go down, you make up a deficit quickly. Those two 3s went in, and all of a sudden, we seemed right again.

'We started playing with some confidence.'

What has to make everyone in Cougarland feel especially good about is this come-from-behind victory came without a huge contribution from star M'caela Sellers. The Liberty University signee was still pretty good, recording 13 points and eight rebounds, but had just three points in the second half.

Others came to the forefront when needed most. See Langhurst and Hamilton as examples.

'I just think our team always has a positive attitude. We knew we have to fight, and we will fight,' Langhurst said.

The Cougars fought defensively as well, holding Jefferson (9-11) to five points the final 10:42 of the game. That included a point drought of seven minutes at the end of the third quarter and well into the fourth.

Kennedy finished the game on a 25-5 run.

'We didn't get the ball inside to our posts enough,' lamented Jeff Coach Jason Edwards.

Evidence of that came via free-throw statistics. Jefferson was 9 of 10 from the stripe in the first half but 1 of 2 in the second. Forward and leading scorer Kennedy Dighton had 11 points but just one in the second half.

Freshman guard Kaylee Donner also had 11 but only three in the second half. Jefferson finished the second quarter with a flurry to grab a 29-24 lead and looked good a lot of third.

Then ...

'We told the girls at halftime that there is nothing more insignificant than a halftime lead, especially against a good team like Kennedy,' Edwards said. 'They made some shots, had a couple of kids step up.'

Langhurst added 11 points for Kennedy. Sydney Hayden had 10.

AT C.R. JEFFERSON

C.R. KENNEDY (56): Carly Langhurst 3-5 3-4 11, M'caela Sellers 3-10 6-8 13, Linden Runels 1-2 1-2 3, Hailey Dolphin 2-7 3-4 8, Sydney Hayden 2-8 4-4 10, Olivia Hellweg 1-2 0-0 3, Ashley Hamilton 2-5 0-0 5, Kendal Meier 1-1 0-0 3. Totals 15-40 17-22 56.

C.R. JEFFERSON (43): Emily Oler 2-6 2-2 6, Kennedy Dighton 3-11 5-6 11, Kylie Wise 1-5 0-0 3, Samantha Kitterman 0-4 2-2 2, Avery Guy 1-6 0-0 2, Erin Kuba 2-5 0-0 6, Kaylee Donner 4-5 1-1 11, Erica Oler 0-0 0-0 0, Sparkle Melton 1-1 0-0 2, Emily O'Brien 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 14-43 10-11 43.

Halftime — Jefferson 29, Kennedy 24. 3-point goals — Kennedy 9-16 (Langhurst 2-3, Sellers 1-2, Runels 0-1, Dolphin 1-3, Hayden 2-3, Hellweg 1-2, Hamilton 1-1, Meier 1-1), Jefferson 5-21 (Em. Oler 0-1, Dighton 0-4, Wise 1-4, Guy 0-4, Kuba 2-5, Donner 2-3). Rebounds — Kennedy 24 (Sellers 8), Jefferson 31 (Dighton 8). Total fouls — Kennedy 13, Jefferson 16. Fouled out — None. Turnovers — Kennedy 5, Jefferson 16.

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