After a 13-year wait, Washington returns to the girls state basketball tournament

CEDAR RAPIDS — The game was tied, but as the Washington Warriors gathered at halftime, storm clouds were present.

A severe foul-trouble warning had been issued.

“Fouls, turnovers ... those had been our Achilles heels all season,” Coach Paul James said.

One of the halftime messages? Stop reaching. Stop hacking.

But by all means, keep playing.

Fifth-ranked Cedar Rapids Washington seized control for good with a 9-0 third-quarter surge and topped No. 13 Cedar Rapids Prairie, 69-59, in a Class 5A girls basketball regional final Tuesday night at Washington High School.

Sira Doumbia and Samantha Becker scored 22 points apiece, and the Warriors (18-4) advance to state for the first time since 2013.

They’ll face No. 6 Ankeny (15-8) in a 5A quarterfinal at 11:45 Monday morning.

“I’m really excited,” said Doumbia, a rapidly impressing 6-foot-4 junior post who converted 9 of 13 shots, and also snagged 13 rebounds. “I’m so proud of this team, and I’m excited about what we’ve accomplished.”

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Becker is one of three seniors — along with Hailey Becker and Lily Belle Barker — that suffered through a 1-21 season as freshmen.

“Everybody just got so much better behind the scenes,” she said. “There’s a lot of excitement, some relief for sure. I had this on my mind all day at school.

“And (Doumbia), she’s gotten so much more confident. She has really come out of her shell.”

Washington led by as many as nine points in the first quarter, but Prairie (12-11) capitalized on 14 first-half fouls by the Warriors. The Hawks hit 11 of 13 free throws before intermission.

You’ve heard of Prairie’s “big three:” KeaOnna Worley, Brynlie Hadenfeldt and Emily Larsen. But it was the “other three” (Kennady Johnson, Piper Johnson and Kylie Wachtl) that kept the Hawks in contention for so long.

That trio combined for 27 points, including eight 3-pointers.

“We weren’t going to let their top three players beat us,” James said.

Prairie scored 16 consecutive points for a 27-20 lead, but Samantha Becker banked home a deep 3-pointer at the halftime horn to get the Warriors even, 31-31.

It was 37-37 when the Warriors made their pivotal move, and led by as many as 11 points in the fourth quarter.

Prairie closed within 55-51 on consecutive 3-pointers by Larsen and Wachtl, but Jayla Strong answered with her own trey to stymie the comeback bid.

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“Our role players really stepped up. But you can’t have scoring droughts against a team like Washington,” Prairie Coach Bruce Dall said.

“Congratulations to them. They earned it, and they’ve earned it all season long.”

Strong added 10 points and four assists for the winners.

Worley paced Prairie with 15 points and four assists. Wachtl added 13, hitting four 3-pointers, and Hadenfeldt tallied 10.

As the Warriors milled around postgame, chumming with the student body and creating videos, James sought out his family. His father Paul James got this program rolling, then the late Frank Howell took his turn.

Now, it belongs to Chris. But not only to Chris.

“Dad comes to practice a lot, and I want him to,” Chris said, as Paul beamed nearby. “I’ve spent countless nights picking his brain.”

There will be more five more nights of it this season, at least.

For the first time in 13 years, the Warriors are playing March basketball.

Cedar Rapids Washington 69, Cedar Rapids Prairie 59

Class 5A Regional Final, at C.R. Washington

C.R. PRAIRIE (59): KeaOnna Worley 3-10 7-9 15, Brynlie Hadenfeldt 2-8 4-4 10, Emily Larsen 2-8 2-2 7, Kennady Johnson 1-3 2-2 5, Piper Johnson 3-5 0-0 9, Kylie Wachtl 4-13 1-2 13, Brecken Lechtenberg 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 15-47 15-19 59.

C.R. WASHINGTON (69): Jayla Strong 4-9 1-2 10, Lily Belle Barker 1-3 3-4 5, Samantha Becker 5-11 10-13 22, Hailey Becker 2-5 0-0 5, Sira Doumbia 9-13 4-4 22, Gabriela Pedroso 1-3 0-0 2, Tashiyana Fields 0-1 1-2 1, Aniya Wahe 1-2 0-0 2, Maija Wickum 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-47 19-25 69.

C.R. Prairie 11 20 8 20 — 59

C.R. Washington 18 13 15 23 — 69

3-point goals: Prairie 13-31 (Worley 2-5, Hadenfeldt 2-5, Larsen 1-4, K. Johnson 1-1, P. Johnson 3-3, Wachtl 4-13), Washington 4-14 (Strong 1-4, S. Becker 2-4, H. Becker 1-4, Fields 0-1, Wahe 0-1). Team fouls: Prairie 18, Washington 20. Fouled out: Hadenfeldt, H. Becker. Rebounds: Prairie 28 (Larsen 7), Washington 30 (Doumbia 13). Assists: Prairie 10 (Worley 4), Washington 12 (Strong 4). Steals: Prairie 11 (Hadenfeldt, Larsen 3), Washington 9 (S. Becker 3). Turnovers: Prairie 16, Washington 11.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com