CR Washington girls ‘grind one out’ against CR Prairie

CEDAR RAPIDS - The Cedar Rapids Washington girls' basketball team was in search of a pair of simple goals headed into Friday night's road game at Cedar Rapids Prairie.

Warriors (7-6) Coach Frank Howell said the team wanted to extend its win streak and get back above .500. His girls were able to accomplish both by way of a 53-44 win against the Hawks (1-11).

'We're back above .500 for the first time in a long time,” Howell said. 'It's good to be back there. Hopefully we can keep things going and keep improving.

'We just kind of had to grind it out (tonight).”

Kandis O'Donnell was once again the go-to player for Washington, finishing with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

'She was really big for us,” Howell said. 'She does a really good job establishing low post position and obviously is a good low post defender as well. I thought we did a good job of taking advantage of her being able to get some work done tonight.”

Howell gave a lot of credit to the Hawks, who might be struggling in their overall record, but gave the Warriors fits all night.

Washington couldn't get the desired comfort level, and that was owed to the defensive switches Coach Josh Bentley implemented different trips down the floor.

'We couldn't get as much separation as we wanted to, but that's a credit to Prairie for playing so hard and playing such good defense,” Howell said. 'They did a good job of mixing up their defenses, keeping us off balance. Once we got into a little bit of a rhythm, they did a good job of switching it up.”

For his part, Bentley said that was the plan going in, knowing it was going to take some misdirection and confusion to get Washington out of its comfort zone.

'We've been working a lot on that after break, mixing up our man and going a little zone here and there, and mixing up our presses. Our girls did a nice job tonight,” Bentley said. 'It just comes down to a couple possessions here and there; rebounds - we gave up a rebound off a free throw when it was a four point game. Just little things you can't do. They're executing our game plan, we just have to finish it.”

Prairie's Olivia Usher led all scorers with 20 points and added seven rebounds off the bench. Howell said she was a difficult matchup all night for Washington.

Bentley was also pleased with her game, and the team's overall despite the loss and their record this season. There was plenty to take away, he said.

'I think we can build on this. There's a lot of positives,” Bentley said. 'In a game like that, with the two young kids we have starting and our two juniors coming into their first year of really having to start, you have to experience games like that to learn how to win games like that. I think tonight we can grow and build from. We're not happy with a loss, but we can build and grow on it.”

AT CEDAR RAPIDS PRAIRIE

CEDAR RAPIDS WASHINGTON (53): Joniqua Clark 2-5 7-11 11, Anne Visser 2-4 1-2 6, Courtney Squires 2-6 1-2 5, Jessica Puk 0-7 3-9 3, Kandis O'Donnell 6-10 2-2 15, Lillian Hartman 0-1 0-0 0, Payton Bruner 1-3 2-2 4, Daris Corey 0-1 1-2 1, Emily Oler 1-2 1-2 3, Brittany Hoeger 1-2 0-0 3, Jayla Pledge-Johnson 1-3 0-0 2. Totals

16-43 18-32 53.

CEDAR RAPIDS PRAIRIE (44): Taylor Moenik 0-3 1-2 1, Lynsey Altenhofen 1-6 2-2 4, Emilie Rotter 4-11 3-5 11, Jenna Wagemester 1-4 0-0 2, Halle Person 2-15 2-2 6, Olivia Usher 6-18 5-8 20, Madalynn Adams 0-1 0-2 0, Ranelle Herold 0-0 0-0 0. Totals

14-60 13-21 44.

Halftime - Cedar Rapids Washington 21, Cedar Rapids Prairie 20. 3-point goals - Washington 3-11 (Clark 0-1, Visser 1-3, Squires 0-2, Puk 0-3, O'Donnell 1-1, Hoeger 1-1). Prairie 3-13 (Altenhofen 0-2, Person 0-4, Usher 3-7). Rebounds - Prairie 38 (Person 10), Washington 35 (O'Donnell 10). Total fouls - Washington 19, Prairie 19. Fouled out

- None. Turnovers - Washington 16, Prairie 12.

l Comments: (319) 368-8884; jeremiah.davis@thegazette.com