Wash survives turnovers, tantrum

 CEDAR RAPIDS -- Somehow, quite miraculously, the clipboard survived."I tried to break it," Cedar Rapids Washington Coach Frank Howell said. "It just wouldn't go. Whoever manufactured this one did a nice job."Somehow, nearly as remarkably, Washington survived 29 turnovers.The Class 5A eighth-ranked Warriors stormed back from a 14-point deficit, scoring 19 straight points in the third quarter to defeat No. 9 Cedar Rapids Kennedy, 64-55, in a Mississippi Valley Conference girls' basketball game Tuesday night at Kennedy High School.Washington (16-4 overall, 11-1 MVC) avenged a 25-point loss to Kennedy on Dec. 20 and wrapped up a share of the MVC Valley Division title. The Warriors win it outright if they beat Cedar Rapids Jefferson on Friday."We're excited for what Friday brings," said Washington's Dani Franklin, who scored 18 of her game-high 22 points in the second half. "It's a great opportunity."That opportunity looked unlikely early in Tuesday's contest. Kennedy (14-6, 8-4) was converting steals into baskets, and Howell was starting to boil inside.Finally, a timeout with Washington trailing 16-4 presented the opportunity to lift the lid off the volcano.Howell ranted. He spiked the clipboard. He raved. He gathered the clipboard and threw it down again."I liked it," said Callie Cook. "Our energy was better after that."It may have been Howell's most vocal sideline moment in his tenure at Washington."Yeah, probably," he said. "In my Audubon days, I was a little nutty. At that point (tonight), the team needed to know how much I cared."And the Warriors eventually responded.They scored the final four points of the first half to get within 34-24. Then, after the Cougars scored the first basket of the second half, Washington registered the next 19 points to take the lead for good.Cook had a pair of 3-pointers to ignite the run. Then Franklin, a Valparaiso University signee, got untracked with nine straight points."We stayed calm and stayed together," said Franklin, who also snagged 11 rebounds.Kennedy got within 43-42 early in the fourth quarter, then Franklin hit a 3-pointer and Cook banked in another."I had a little too much oomph on that one," said Cook, who added 14 points.Aleena Hobbs added 13 points for the winners.Kennedy captured the first encounter between the teams, 74-49, at Washington. Tuesday, the Warriors provided a 34-point swing.The Cougars have dropped four of their last seven games after an 11-2 start. Kennedy Coach Tony Vis was asked if his team could turn it around."That's a great question," he said. "We need to re-evaluate where we are, what our goals are. We need to play 32 minutes. We need to play together. We need to have fewer breakdowns."Paige Hendrickson led the Cougars with 12 points. Jordan Holmes was the key component of Kennedy's early press success; she posted 11 points and seven steals.Morgan Martin added 10 points.Kennedy is at Linn-Mar on Thursday. Washington hosts Jefferson the following night, with a title on its mind."It's a big deal to me," Howell said. "We've got one to play, and our motivation should be high." 

CEDAR RAPIDS WASHINGTON 64,

CEDAR RAPIDS KENNEDY 55

At C.R. Kennedy

C.R. WASHINGTON (64): Callie Cook 4-5 2-3 14, Aleena Hobbs 3-12 7-9 13, Jasmyne Jones 0-2 5-8 5, Dani Franklin 7-16 6-6 22, Kandis O'Donnell 0-1 2-2 2, Joniqua Clark 1-1 0-0 2, Kiki West-Doyle 0-1 2-2, M.J. Kamin 0-1 0-0 0, Anne Visser 0-1 0-0 0, Alexandra Semrau 0-1 0-0 0, Sophia Ochs 0-0 0-0 0, Lilly Hartman 2-2 0-0 4. Totals 17-43 24-30 64.

C.R. KENNEDY (55): Madi Meier 0-7 2-2 2, Jordan Holmes 5-13 1-2 11, Paige Hendrickson 4-10 4-6 12, Stephanie Botkin 2-6 4-4 8, Morgan Martin 3-9 4-5 10, Brinley Milbrath 1-2 2-2 4, Carly Langhurst 3-4 0-2 6, Madi DeLong 1-1 0-1 2, Sydney Hayden 0-0 0-1 0, Abby Hellweg 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-52 17-25 55.

Halftime: Kennedy 34, Washington 24.

3-point goals: Washington 6-19 (Cook 4-5, Hobbs 0-2, Jones 0-2, Franklin 2-7, Kamin 0-1, Visser 0-1, Semrau 0-1), Kennedy 0-12 (Meier 0-5, Holmes 0-2, Hendrickson 0-3, Martin 0-1, Langhurst 0-1). 

Team fouls: Washington 20, Kennedy 24.

Fouled out: O'Donnell, Botkin.

Rebounds: Washington 37 (Franklin 11), Kennedy 31 (Martin 7).

Assists: Washington 7 (Jones 2), Kennedy 7 (Holmes 3).

Steals: Washington 13 (Cook 4), Kennedy 12 (Holmes 7).

Turnovers: Washington 29, Kennedy 22.