No. 7 Warriors tower over Prairie

CEDAR RAPIDS -- Size trumped sloppiness.

Class 4A seventh-ranked Cedar Rapids Washington held Cedar Rapids Prairie to 23-percent shooting and rolled to a 61-35 Mississippi Valley Conference girls' basketball victory Thursday night at Washington High School.

"Small teams usually have more speed, but when you have height, the other team isn't going to get anything inside," said Washington's Abby Herb.

Washington (3-0 overall, 3-0 MVC) boasts a half-dozen girls listed at 6 feet or taller, and as many as four of them are on the floor at once from time to time.

That makes it tough, especially for a team as small as Prairie (3-3, 2-2), which has nobody taller than 5-foot-9. The Hawks made just 11 of 47 shots from the floor.

It's not as if the Warriors are a bunch of lead-footed ogres. They're mobile.

"We don't just camp them under the basket and isolate them," said Washington Coach Frank Howell. "Our big girls make us feel good about pressing the basketball. We have some length behind the front wave, and that gives us a lot of support."

The Warriors cruised in a game that featured 56 turnovers and 45 fouls.

It wasn't always pretty, but the Warriors were generally in charge the whole way.

Washington busted it open in the first half, using a 18-2 run to build a 26-8 advantage. The lead grew to 32-11, then Washington settled for a 32-15 margin at the half.

"They're physical, and we had way too many turnovers," said Prairie Coach Steve Doser. "They're very aggressive, and they were definitely the aggressor tonight."

Prairie crept within 12 points early in the fourth quarter before Washington stretched it out again.

Four Washington players reached double figures, including a double-double (10 points, 10 rebounds) by Herb.

Jazz Royster led the Warriors with 14 points. Danielle Franklin added 13 and Kelli Klaus joined Herb with 10.

Alisa Weiland paced Prairie with nine points.

Washington hosts Dubuque Wahlert on Tuesday; Prairie entertains Waterloo West.

C.R. WASHINGTON 61, C.R. PRAIRIE 35

At C.R. Washington

C.R. PRAIRIE (35): Katilyn Yanacek 0-3 0-1 0, Cyerra Hutchins 3-10 2-2 8, Alisa Weiland 2-9 4-6 9, Courteney McCrary 0-5 0-0 0, Madison Dellamuth 3-7 1-3 7, Emilie Rotter 2-4 1-3 5, Mackenzie Serbousek 1-3 2-2 4, Abby Ganske 0-1 0-0 0, Taylor Sanders 0-0 0-0 0, Allison Neuhaus 0-2 0-0 0, Josie Wagner 0-3 2-4 2. Totals 11-47 12-21 35.

C.R. WASHINGTON (61): Abby Herb 4-11 2-4 10, Brooke Foreman 1-1 0-0 2, Madison Kramer 0-6 0-2 0, Jazz Royster 5-6 4-6 14, Danielle Franklin 5-12 3-6 13, Kelli Klaus 5-8 0-0 10, Colby Bjornsen 0-2 0-0 0, Aleena Hobbs 3-5 1-5 7, Lauren Goodlove 0-0 0-0 0, Shanay Gonder 0-1 0-0 0, Callie Stone 0-1 0-0 0, Devin Glenski 0-0 0-1 0, Renee Runge 1-1 0-0 2, Sophie Malcolm 1-2 0-0 3. Totals 25-56 10-23 61.

Halftime: Washington 32, Prairie 15.

3-point goals: Prairie 1-12 (Hutchins 0-2, Weiland 1-5, McCrary 0-1, Dellamuth 0-3, Ganske 0-1), Washington 1-8 (Herb 0-1, Kramer 0-2, Franklin 0-2, Stone 0-1, Malcolm 1-3).

Team fouls: Prairie 22, Washington 23.

Fouled out: Yanacek.

Technical foul: Kramer.

Rebounds: Prairie 38 (Dellamuth, Rotter 7), Washington 42 (Herb 10).

Assists: Prairie 4 (Weiland, Dellamuth 2), Washington 10 (Foreman 3).

Steals: Prairie 11 (Hutchins 5), Washington 15 (Foreman 4).

Turnovers: Prairie 29, Washington 27.