4th quarter, MVC showdown belong to West

IOWA CITY -- His team in the midst of a fourth-quarter run, B.J. Mayer made a request for a knockout blow."Put your foot on their throat," he implored in the huddle.Request accepted.Class 4A sixth-ranked Iowa City West answered a big run by Cedar Rapids Washington with an even bigger one, and downed the fifth-rated Warriors, 65-50, in a Mississippi Valley Conference girls' basketball game Tuesday night at West High School."Last year, we were so young, we didn't have that killer instinct to bury somebody," Mayer said. "That's what we try to do, put teams away."West (8-1 overall, 6-1 MVC) has done that far more often than not this season, and should continue to do so for a while. The vast majority of the key cogs are juniors.That includes McKenzie Piper, who moved to Iowa City from Keokuk on the first day of practice. She scored a season-high 25 points Tuesday, sinking 11 of 16 shots.But the win was more about scoring. It was about "Cats," an extended zone that caused the Warriors (9-1, 6-1) problems. Washington committed 23 turnovers, 18 on West steals."We just learned it over break," Piper said. "It's supposed to be a reserve defense. It focuses on being aggressive, talking a lot and boxing out."Down 12 points, Washington scored 11 straight to get within 42-41 with 40 seconds left in the third quarter. The Women of Troy answered that, and then some.Shelly Stumpff's basket at the end of the quarter made it 44-41, then West scored 11 more in a row to open the fourth period. Mayer's foot-on-throat plea came at 51-41, and the Women of Troy kept extending the lead.The largest margin was 17, on two occasions."They do a good job off the dribble, pulling up for jumpers," said Washington Coach Frank Howell. "And we had problems with that extended zone. It caused us to pick up the ball around halfcourt. We never solved that."Washington took an early 10-4 lead, but the Women of Troy were in front by the end of the first quarter and held a 31-25 advantage at the half.Jessica Shull added nine points and six steals for the winners.Tia Dawson registered 16 points and 12 rebounds for Washington.

AT IOWA CITY WEST

C.R. WASHINGTON (50): Ashley Piper 3-12 0-1 8, Alissa Oney 2-8 0-0 4, Jordon Pilcher 3-5 0-0 6, Jazz Royster 2-6 4-4 9, Tia Dawson 7-13 2-4 16, Latasha Roundtree 1-5 0-0 2, Janay Pritchett 1-3 0-0 2, Abbie Herb 0-1 0-0 0, Madison Kramer 1-3 0-0 2, Kelli Klaus 0-1 0-0 0, Layloni Beard 0-2 0-0 0, Brooke Foreman 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 20-60 6-9 50.

IOWA CITY WEST (65): Ally Disterhoft 2-7 4-6 8, Brianna Sturtz 1-3 0-0 2, Shelly Stumpff 3-6 1-4 7, Jessica Shull 4-8 0-2 9, McKenzie Piper 11-16 2-6 25, Shahana Williams 1-3 6-8 8, Tatum Klein 0-4 0-0 0, Paige Yoder 1-3 2-2 4, Kelley Fliehler 1-1 0-0 2, Griffin Reed 0-0 0-0 0, Christine Heying 0-1 0-0 0, Mackenzie Haight 0-0 0-0 , Danielle Chelf 0-0 0-0 0, Akia Wade 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-52 15-28 65.

Halftime: West 31, Washington 25.

3-point goals: Washington 4-23 (A.Piper 2-10, Oney 0-5, Pilcher 0-1, Royster 1-2, Roundtree 0-1, Pritchett 1-2, Herb 0-1, Kramer 0-1), West 2-15 (Disterhoft 0-3, Sturtz 0-2, Stumpff 0-1, Shull 1-2, M.Piper 1-3, Klein 0-3, Heying 0-1).

Team fouls: Washington 24, West 13.

Fouled out: none.

Rebounds: Washington 38 (Dawson 12), West 35 (M.Piper 7).

Asssists: Washington 10 (Roundtree 3), West 10 (four with 2).

Steals: Washington 9 (Oney 3), West 18 (Shull 6).

Turnovers: Washington 23, West 15.