Despite late start, Washington makes quick work of shorthanded Jefferson

CEDAR RAPIDS -- The inevitable was delayed, but couldn't be avoided.

Class 4A seventh-ranked Cedar Rapids Washington jumped in front early and cruised to a 66-46 Mississippi Valley Conference girls' basketball win over short-handed Cedar Rapids Jefferson Friday night at Jefferson High School.

The game was delayed 35 minutes due to tardy officials.

"We did a lot of shooting (while we were waiting), then we just went to the locker room to get our mentality straight," said Washington's Brooke Foreman. "We had about 10 different conversations going on. We're very talkative."

Washington (10-5 overall, 9-4 MVC) roared to a 15-2 lead, and that's about where the margin stayed throughout.

"We were a little sporadic," Washington Coach Frank Howell said. "We played well in spurts, but then we'd start to take the foot off the pedal a little bit."

Jefferson (6-10, 2-10) was without three starters -- Taylor Jacobson (high ankle sprain), Rachel Broghammer (stress fracture, foot) and Kaitlyn Davidson (meniscus) -- for various medical reasons, and could be for the rest of the season.

The makeshift lineup played with energy and effort, but was overmatched by a tall, deep Washington outfit. The J-Hawks cut a 14-point halftime deficit to seven twice in the third quarter, and still was within nine early in the fourth before Washington pulled away for good.

"I really thought we had good effort," said Jefferson Coach Larry Niemeyer. "Washington's press is as good as anybody's, and we held up pretty well against it. Sometimes, though, they just killed us on the boards."

Washington enjoyed a 51-34 rebounding advantage.

Danielle Franklin led the Warriors with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Abby Herb and Jazz Royster added 11 points apiece; Foreman came off the bench to score 10.

"We love to run," said Foreman, who has committed to compete in track and field at Drake University. "We want to get out and show how the Warriors play."

Maddie Koolbeck paced Jefferson with 17 points. Danie Stromert added 12.

C.R. WASHINGTON 66, C.R. JEFFERSON 46

At C.R. Jefferson

C.R. WASHINGTON (66): Abby Herb 4-5 3-4 11, Madison Kramer 1-12 2-2 4, Jazz Royster 5-9 1-2 11, Tasha Roundtree 1-7 0-0 2, Danielle Franklin 6-13 4-5 17, Brooke Foreman 4-9 1-2 10, Kelli Klaus 0-3 0-2 0, Aleena Hobbs 2-3 2-5 6, Colby Bjornsen 1-3 0-0 3, Lauren Goodlove 0-1 0-0 0, Callie Stone 0-2 0-0 0, Shanay Gonder 0-0 0-0 0, Devin Glenski 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 25-68 13-22 66.

C.R. JEFFERSON (46): Alleigha Church-Green 1-4 2-2 4, Madison Blietz 2-10 0-2 4, Danie Stromert 3-7 5-10 12, Maddie Koolbeck 7-13 3-6 17, Kieley Brathwaite  4-12 1-5 9, Kylie Jonas 0-2 0-0 0, Hannah Towns 0-0 0-0 0, Molly Evans 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-48 11-25 46.

Halftime: Washington 36, Jefferson 22. 3-point goals: Washington 3-17 (Kramer 0-3, Roundtree 0-2, Franklin 1-5, Foreman 1-3, Bjornsen 1-1, Goodlove 0-1, Stone 0-2), Jefferson 1-4 (Stromert 1-2, Brathwaite 0-2). Team fouls: Washington 23, Jefferson 18. Fouled out: Rayster, Church-Green, Blietz. Rebounds: Washington 51 (Franklin 12), Jefferson 34 (Koolbeck 7). Assists: Washington 13 (Roundtree 7), Jefferson 8 (Brathwaite 3). Steals: Washington 8 (Herb, Franklin 2), Jefferson 7. Turnovers: Washington 17, Jefferson 19.

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