No. 1 West denies Washington's upset bid

CEDAR RAPIDS -- The Washington Warriors played well enough to beat just about any girls' basketball team in the state Tuesday night.

But Iowa City West isn't just anybody.

Class 4A top-ranked West controlled the fourth quarter and pulled away for a 78-64 victory in a battle of Mississippi Valley Conference divisional leaders at Washington High School.

"It was nice to see the way we responded when we faced a little adversity," said West Coach B.J. Mayer.

West (10-0 overall, 7-0 MVC) had raced its way to a series of easy wins -- the closest outcome before Tuesday was a 17-point victory at Cedar Rapids Xavier.

But the Warriors (5-2, 5-2) had the Women of Troy on their heels early. Four times in the first half, the Warriors held nine-point leads, the last instance at 24-15 at the 6:05 mark in the second quarter.

"We came out strong," said Washington's Danielle Franklin. "We were strong on the defensive side and stopped their fast breaks."

Meyer said, "They were beating us at our own game. They were beating us down the floor and getting transition layups. That's what we do."

West chipped away and held a 37-34 halftime lead, despite shooting 0-of-11 from long distance.

Washington never led again, but stayed close until the opening moments of the fourth quarter. It was 57-54 before the Women of Troy opened the final period with a 10-0 surge to pull away.

"We had a chance for 3 1/2 quarters to pull it off," said Washington Coach Frank Howell. "But great teams make plays down the stretch, and that's what West did."

Outrebounded by 10 boards through the first three quarters, West picked up the slack on the boards and defensively down the stretch.

"We started playing defense after the first quarter," said Tatum Klein, who led the Women of Troy with 19 points. "We played more of an intense defense and pressured more."

Ally Disterhoft tallied 15 points for the winners. Shelly Stumpff added 14, University of Illinois signee Mckenzie Piper 11.

Franklin paced the Warriors with 19 points. Tasha Roundtree, playing in just her second game of the season, added nine points and eight assists.

"I hate to lose, but I think we showed tonight what is possible for this team," Howell said.

IOWA CITY WEST 78, C.R. WASHINGTON 64

At C.R. Washington

IOWA CITY WEST (78): Ally Disterhoft 4-11 7-9 15, Brianna Sturtz 2-4 0-0 5, Shelly Stumpff 6-8 1-2 14, Jessica Shull 3-7 0-0 7, Mckenzie Piper 4-13 3-6 11, Shahana Williams 2-7 3-4 7, Tatum Klein 6-14 6-10 19, Kelley Fliehler 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 27-65 20-30 78.

C.R. WASHINGTON (64): Abby Herb 4-9 0-0 8, Colby Bjornsen 0-2 0-0 0, Jazz Royster 2-7 3-4 7, Danielle Franklin 8-13 1-3 19, Aleena Hobbs 2-7 0-1 4, Brooke Foreman 1-3 2-2 5, Madison Kramer 2-7 0-0 6, Tasha Roundtree 4-9 0-0 9, Kelli Klaus 3-4 0-0 6. Totals 26-61 6-10 64.

Halftime: West 37, Washington 34. 3-point goals: West 4-19 (Disterhoft 0-2, Sturtz 1-2, Stumpff 1-2, Shull 1-4, Piper 0-4, Williams 0-1, Klein 1-4), Washington 6-19 (Franklin 2-7, Hobbs 0-1, Foreman 1-3, Kramer 2-5, Roundtree 1-3). Team fouls: West 13, Washington 24. Fouled out: Kramer. Techincals: Foreman. Rebounds: West 39 (Stumpff 9), Washington 41 (Herb 9). Assists: West 15 (Williams 4), Washington 21 (Roundtree 8). Steals:West 8 (Piper 4), Washington 6 (Foreman 2). Turnovers: West 11, Washington 19.

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