Kennedy builds big first-half lead, defeats Prairie for 3rd straight win, 44-34

CEDAR RAPIDS -- The Kennedy Cougars weren’t perfect in the first quarter. But they were in the neighborhood.

Six assists, no turnovers. Yeah, that will win games. It certainly got them on their way Friday night.

Cedar Rapids Kennedy built an 18-point halftime lead and downed Cedar Rapids Prairie, 44-34, in a non-conference girls’ basketball game between the two Metro rivals at Kennedy High School.

The Cougars (3-3) have won three straight games after a messy 0-3 start.

“I’m excited,” said senior Kaliyah Sain, who registered 21 points, five rebounds and three assists. “We’ve made huge improvement. Our chemistry is a lot better.”

Kennedy has had itself a week, beating Cedar Falls on Tuesday, then leading this one from start to finish.

The Cougars broke free from an early 7-7 tie, leading 18-9 by the end of the first quarter and scoring the final 12 points of the half for a 30-12 margin.

“We talked about being strong with the basketball,” Kennedy co-head coach Madi Meier said.

“Kaliyah can do it all for us. She has a great connection with Addy (Alber). She makes passes I can’t even believe.”

Prairie (3-4) was coming off a statement win of its own (Wednesday at Linn-Mar), but couldn’t recreate the magic. The Hawks shot 29 percent from the floor, including 2 of 20 from long distance.

The Hawks crept within 38-30 on Catie Reittinger’s three-point play with 4:40 left, but Kennedy answered with a basket from Ella Moser and a pair of free throws from Sain to restore the advantage to 12.

Alber added 11 points for the Cougars before sustaining an ankle injury late in the game. Moser counted nine points and six rebounds.

Emily Larsen and Asia Beale scored six points apiece for Prairie.

The teams meet in an MVC encounter Jan. 20 at Prairie.

BOYS: Kennedy 77, Prairie 39

Colby Dolphin scored 10 of his game-high 22 points in the first quarter, and the Cougars rolled their way to 5-0.

Kenzie Reed added 10 points for Kennedy, which has won its five games by an average of 39.6 points.

The Cougars led 17-10 after a quarter, 35-21 at halftime, and kept surging from there.

Prairie slipped to 1-4.

Cedar Rapids Kennedy 44, Cedar Rapids Prairie 34

At C.R. Kennedy

CEDAR RAPIDS PRAIRIE (34): Emily Larsen 2-9 0-2 6, Nevaeh Diaz-Doolin 2-7 0-0 4, McKenna Murray 2-5 1-4 5, DeLanee Seay 1-8 0-0 2, Brynlie Hadenfeldt 2-6 0-0 4, Catie Reittinger 1-1 3-3 5, Ryann Decker 1-4 0-0 2, Asia Beale 3-5 0-0 6, Ava Van Voorst 0-1 0-0 0, Emma Keiper 0-2 0-0 0, Megan Mallicoat 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 14-48 4-9 34.

CEDAR RAPIDS KENNEDY (44): Addison Swartzendruber 0-3 0-0 0, Ella Moser 3-6 2-3 9, Lexi Moore 0-3 0-0 0, Addy Alber 5-9 1-2 11, Kaliyah Sain 6-15 6-8 21, Janelle Minor 1-1 0-0 3, Sidney Swartzendruber 0-0 0-0 0, Grace Park 0-1 0-0 0, Kyla Wright 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 15-39 9-13 44.

C.R. Prairie 9 3 13 9 -- 34

C.R. Kennedy 18 12 7 7 -- 44

3-point goals: Prairie 2-20 (Larsen 2-8, Diaz-Doolin 0-1, Murray 0-3, Seay 0-4, Decker 0-1, Van Voorst 0-1, Keiper 0-2), Kennedy 5-11 (A. Swartzendruber 0-3, Moser 1-1, Sain 3-5, Minor 1-1, Park 0-1). Team fouls: Prairie 13, Kennedy 9. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: Prairie 28 (Murray 5), Kennedy 36 (Moser 6). Assists: Prairie 2 (Seay, Hadenfeldt), Kennedy 10 (Sain 3). Steals: Prairie 10 (four with 2), Kennedy 3 (three with 1). Turnovers: Prairie 11, Kennedy 15.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com