J-Hawks clamp down, pull away

CEDAR RAPIDS - For 2 1/2 quarters, it was anybody's game.

Then suddenly, well, it wasn't.

Cedar Rapids Jefferson held Cedar Rapids Prairie without a field goal for the final 12 minutes and closed the game with a 22-1 run to break away for a 51-27 Mississippi Valley Conference girls' basketball victory Tuesday night at Jefferson High School.

'We really came out ready to play in the second half,” said Jefferson's Kennedy Dighton. 'We really didn't want to make anything easy for them.”

Jefferson (4-2 overall, 3-0 MVC) was nursing a tenuous 29-26 lead midway through the third quarter. Anybody's game.

And then, Prairie (0-5, 0-3) went cold. Arctic cold.

The Hawks shot 2-of-29 in the second half, including 0-of-17 in the fourth quarter.

'We got undisciplined,” said first-year Hawks coach Josh Bentley. 'The first half, we reversed the ball side to side, kicked it out. Then we got one-sided and settled for the 3-pointer way too much.”

Jefferson Coach Jason Edwards said, 'Defense is something that had really been an emphasis. After the game was over, you look at the book and see we held them to five points in the second half. That's a testament to how hard we played.

'They did a lot of dribble penetration, and we told the kids to get good chest stops and get their hands wide.”

Jefferson was whistled for only four fouls all game.

The game was a mixed bag for University of Iowa commitment Amanda Ollinger. The junior struggled with her shot (she was 6-of-25 from the field) in a 13-point outing, but gathered 21 rebounds.

'It's good to know that when she has an off night shooting, we can pick her up,” said Dighton, who added 11 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and four steals.

Sam Kitterman and Kylie Wise tacked on eight points apiece.

Freshman Halle Person paced Prairie with eight points. The Hawks lost their 17th straight game dating back to last season.

'There are no easy nights,” Bentley said. 'We've got to find a way to find one, get one.”

Jefferson led from start to finish. The J-Hawks jumped to a 12-4 lead, then Prairie got within 24-22 at halftime.

The J-Hawks are at Iowa City High on Friday; Prairie hosts Dubuque Senior.

CEDAR RAPIDS JEFFERSON 51, CEDAR RAPIDS PRAIRIE 27

At C.R. Jefferson

C.R. PRAIRIE (27): Emilie Rotter 3-14 0-0 6, Olivia Usher 0-2 1-2 1, Jenna Wagemester 2-7 0-0 4, Halle Person 3-11 0-0 8, Makenzie Stoffer 1-8 0-0 2, Lynsey Altenhofen 0-3 0-0 0, Taylor Moenk 2-6 0-0 4, Madalynn Adams 0-3 0-0 0, Ranelle Herold 1-8 0-0 2. Totals 12-62 1-2 27.

C.R. JEFFERSON (51): Sam Kitterman 4-13 0-0 8, Avery Guy 1-3 2-2 5, Kylie Wise 3-5 0-0 8, Kennedy Dighton 5-10 1-4 11, Amanda Ollinger 6-25 1-1 13, Mariah Robinson 1-5 0-0 2, Sparkle Melton 2-3 0-0 4, Emily O'Brien 0-0 0-0 0, Cassandra Veglahn 0-0 0-0 0, Emma Rolwes 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-65 4-7 51.

Halftime: Jefferson 24, Prairie 22. 3-point goals: Prairie 2-16 (Rotter 0-3, Wagemester 0-1, Person 2-7, Altenhofen 0-1, Moenk 0-1, Adams 0-2, Herold 0-1), Jefferson 3-19 (Kitterman 0-3, Guy 1-3, Wise 2-3, Dighton 0-1, Ollinger 0-9). Team fouls: Prairie 12, Jefferson 4. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: Prairie 40 (Person 8), Jefferson 54 (Ollinger 21). Assists: Prairie 4 (Usher 2), Jefferson 13 (Dighton 5). Steals: Prairie 7 (Rotter 3), Jefferson 11 (Dighton 4). Turnovers: Prairie 13, Jefferson 15.

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