Mid-game run sends Washington past Kennedy

CEDAR RAPIDS -- Twenty straight tore down six straight.

Class 4A 10th-ranked Cedar Rapids Washington wrapped a 20-point string around the halftime break and stuffed No. 7 Cedar Rapids Kennedy's six-game win streak, 66-50, in a Mississippi Valley Conference girls' basketball game Friday night at Washington High School.

"They beat us the first time, but this time we were determined to get them," said Washington's Jazz Royster. "We played better defense and put the ball in the basket."

Sounds like a simple formula, and it was a winning one as the Warriors (12-6 overall, 10-4 MVC) maintained their Mississippi Division lead.

"We did a better job identifying the heart of their team," said Washington Coach Frank Howell, alluding to Kennedy's Courtney Strait. "Even though we were behind early, I felt we were doing a decent job defensively."

Kennedy (10-7, 7-6) held a 20-12 lead when Strait hit a 3-pointer with 4:46 left in the first half, but the Warriors scored the next 13 points and took a 25-20 lead into the locker room.

Danielle Franklin and Tasha Roundtree ignited the run with back-to-back 3-pointers.

"I thought we were playing well, then they caught fire and took the lead," said Kennedy Coach Dennis Roloff. "I saw a lot of improvement in their outside shooting from the last time we played them (a 62-59 Kennedy win on Jan. 6)."

The Warriors weren't done with their scoring spree yet.

Madison Kramer opened the second half with a 3-pointer and Royster followed with a pair of baskets as Washington stretched the margin to 32-20.

The Cougars didn't get closer than seven points again.

Four Warriors reached double figures. Frankin scored 15 points, Abby Herb 12, Brooke Foreman 11 and Royster 10.

Royster added 10 rebounds to make a double-double out of it.

Strait, the state's leading scorer in 4A at 21.2 points per game, was right at her average with 21 to lead the Cougars. That was a win for the Warriors, though, after yielding 34 to her the first time around.

"I don't know how she does it, getting to the foul line so much," Howell said.

Madison Meier added 12 points and 11 rebounds for Kennedy.

C.R. WASHINGTON 66, C.R. KENNEDY 50

At C.R. Washington

C.R. KENNEDY (50): Madison Meier 4-13 2-2 12, Courtney Strait 5-11 9-12 21, Kaylese Johnson 0-3 0-0 0, Paige Hendrickson 1-6 3-4 5, Stephanie Botkin 1-7 1-6 3, Jordan Holmes 3-6 2-3 9, Capria Davis 0-1 0-1 0, Sarah Zinser 0-2 0-0 0, Aryn Nelson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 14-49 17-28 50.

C.R. WASHINGTON (66): Abby Herb 3-7 6-8 12, Madison Kramer 3-4 0-1 7, Jazz Royster 4-11 2-2 10, Tasha Roundtree 1-9 0-0 2, Danielle Franklin 6-10 2-2 15, Brooke Foreman 5-9 0-1 11, Kelli Klaus 3-3 0-0 6, Aleena Hobbs 1-4 0-0 2. Totals 1-4 0-0 2. Totals 26-57 10-14 66.

Halftime: Washington 25, Kennedy 20. 3-point goals: Kennedy 5-14 (Meier 2-5, Strait 2-3, Hendrickson 0-3, Holmes 1-2, Davis 0-1), Washington 4-14 (Kramer 1-1, Roundtree 1-5, Franklin 1-3, Foreman 1-4, Hobbs 0-1). Team fouls: Kennedy 16, Washington 25. Fouled out: Klaus. Rebounds: Kennedy 37 (Meier 11), Washington 40 (Royster 10). Assists: Kennedy 8 (Meier, Strait, Hendrickson 2), Washington 15 (Roundtree, Foreman 4). Steals: Kennedy 11 (Strait, Holmes 4), Washington 5 (Franklin 2). Turnovers: Kennedy 20, Washington 17.

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