Botkin’s big first half ignites Kennedy

CEDAR RAPIDS — As the only returning starter, Stephanie Botkin has taken ownership of the Cedar Rapids Kennedy girls' basketball team.

She did the same to Tuesday's game.

Botkin enjoyed an enormous first half, and Kennedy blasted Cedar Rapids Prairie, 58-41, in a Mississippi Valley Conference contest at Prairie High School.

A senior bound for Washington University in St. Louis, Botkin posted 23 of her game-high 25 points in the first half. Kennedy (9-4 overall, 5-2 MVC) built a 34-point lead late in the third quarter to win a game that was much more one-sided than the final score indicated.

'They played a little zone, and I looked to hit the gaps there,' Botkin said. 'And on the boards, they didn't have a big body to block me out.'

Kennedy reached the state tournament last year, but graduated four starters. The transfer of talented junior Lela Sellers has helped, but Botkin is the ringleader.

'She has taken ownership,' said Kennedy Coach Tony Vis. 'She's the one that pumps them up. She's kind of silly and goofy, and she gets them huddled around her to get them fired up.'

This was a game for about five minutes — a 10-10 stalemate. Then, suddenly, it wasn't.

Kennedy made hay at the free throw line in a 19-2 run that turned it into a runaway. It was 36-18 at halftime, then 52-18 late in the third quarter.

'After Saturday's (overtime) loss (to Ames), we were really bummed, but we played well for a lot of that game,' said Botkin, who also grabbed nine rebounds. 'We wanted to play with that same level of energy.

'We're halfway through the season. We can really improve the next two or three weeks, but it needs to start now.'

Prairie Coach Josh Bentley said, 'We got off to a nice start. We were patient with our offense. But in the second quarter, we started settling for outside shots.'

The Cougars, meanwhile, attacked with ferocity, getting to the rim and to the line. Kennedy shot 23 free throws (making 18) in the first half, getting all five Prairie starters into foul trouble.

Sellers added 18 points, four assists and four steals for the Cougars. Katelynn Dye posted eight points.

Halle Person scored 12 points for Prairie (1-10, 1-7), and Jenna Wagemester added 10. Both are freshmen.

CEDAR RAPIDS KENNEDY 58, CEDAR RAPIDS PRAIRIE 41

At C.R. Prairie

C.R. KENNEDY (58): Katelynn Dye 4-7 0-0 8, Sydney Hayden 0-6 2-2 2, Abby Hellweg 1-4 0-0 2, Linden Runels 1-2 0-0 2, Stephanie Botkin 8-10 9-14 25, Hailey Dolphin 0-2 1-2 1, Ashley Hamilton 0-2 0-0 0, Lela Sellers 6-10 6-7 18, Brinley Milbrath 0-0 0-0 0, Paige Timmerman 0-1 0-0 0, Sydney Green 0-2 0-0 0, Lauren Meyer 0-0 0-0 0, Alana Steele 0-0 0-0 0, Alyssa Dunham 0-1 0-0 0, Olivia Hellweg 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-47 18-25 58.

C.R. PRAIRIE (41): Taylor Moenk 3-10 2-5 8, Lynsey Altenhofen 0-1 0-0 0, Emilie Rotter 3-6 0-0 6, Jenna Wagemester 4-6 2-4 10, Halle Person 4-13 4-6 12, Madalynn Adams 0-2 1-2 1, Ranelle Herold 2-4 0-0 4, Maggie Lampe 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 16-44 9-17 41.

Halftime: Kennedy 36, Prairie 18. 3-point goals: Kennedy 0-13 (Hayden 0-4, A.Hellweg 0-2, Runels 0-1, Dolphin 0-1, Hamilton 0-2, Timmerman 0-1, Green 0-1, Dunham 0-1), Prairie 0-5 (Moenk 0-4, Wagemester 0-1). Team fouls: Kennedy 16, Prairie 21. Fouled out: none. Technicals: Prairie bench (scorebook error). Rebounds: Kennedy 37 (Botkin 9), Prairie 28 (Person 7). Assists: Kennedy 8 (Sellers 4), Prairie 3 (Moenk, Wagemester, Adams). Steals: Kennedy 13 (Sellers 4), Prairie 10 (Wagemester 3). Turnovers: Kennedy 17, Prairie 20.

l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com