Cedar Rapids Washington’s turnaround girls’ basketball season ends in regional finals

DAVENPORT — A season removed from winning only one game, the Cedar Rapids Washington girls’ basketball team held a lead in the second half of a regional final Tuesday night.

The Warriors could not make it a storybook ending.

Class 5A second-ranked Davenport North recorded 16 consecutive points during a six-minute stretch in the third and fourth quarters to stave off a challenge from Washington, 53-40, at North High School.

Even with all-stater and Iowa recruit Journey Houston sidelined for the season because of a knee injury, North (22-2) advances to the state tournament for the second straight season. It faces seventh-ranked Cedar Falls in a quarterfinal Monday at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

“Being able to get to state without Journey is really special for us,” said North all-state guard Divine Bourrage, who finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds. “We just had to keep our composure.”

Washington overcame a tumultuous start to make North earn it.

The Warriors (11-12) trailed 17-1 after the opening six minutes, but stormed back with a 16-2 surge in the second quarter to get within a point by halftime.

“We got into our offense a little better, we got some momentum and were able to get set up defensively,” Washington coach Chris James said.

Samantha Becker was the catalyst of the comeback. The sophomore had 14 of her game-high 20 points in the second stanza for Washington.

“(North) was definitely bigger and stronger, but we just had to relax and trust in what we’ve been practicing for months,” Becker said.

The Warriors scored seven straight points in the third quarter to snatch the lead.

“If you would have told me we’d hold them to 53 points, be down 17-1 and then up three in the second half, sign me up for that,” James said.

But after Lily Belle Barker split free throws to put Washington in front 31-28, the Warriors didn’t score the next 9 minutes, 12 seconds.

Washington had two field goal droughts of more than 6 1/2 minutes in the game. It also was 8 of 19 at the free-throw line and committed 20 turnovers.

“Those are things that have kind of haunted us this season,” James said. “Against a team like this, you can’t have those lulls.”

Kyra Taylor collected 15 points and Makayla Farnum had 10 for North, which will make back-to-back state trips for the first time in program history.

Washington, meanwhile, made a substantial leap this season, going from 1-21 to a postseason victory and 11 wins.

The Warriors could take another step in 2024-25, with their top three scorers returning in Becker, Belle Barker and Elysionna Westerfield.

“This definitely fuels the fire,” Becker said. “This one hurts, but we’ll be ready next year and want it even more.”

James is excited about what lies ahead.

“If we take what we’ve learned tonight and work on those things in the next few months, then this game will really benefit us in the future,” James said. “We have so much potential and we’re excited about that.”

Davenport North 53, Cedar Rapids Washington 40

AT DAVENPORT NORTH

CEDAR RAPIDS WASHINGTON (40): Elysionna Westerfield 2-8 0-0 5, Samantha Becker 7-17 5-5 20, Ava Sales 1-4 0-6 2, Lily Belle Barker 3-7 2-5 8, Hailey Becker 1-4 0-1 2, JaeCis Wright 0-1 0-0 0, Jamiah Malone 1-3 1-2 3, Lillie Dostal 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 15-44 8-19 40.

DAVENPORT NORTH (53): Divine Bourrage 6-16 5-7 17, Damia Clark 3-4 0-0 7, Maya Arnold 0-4 2-2 2, Kyra Taylor 6-10 3-4 15, Makayla Farnum 3-11 4-6 10, Ciara McMath 1-4 0-0 2, Gabby Leibold 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-49 14-19 53.

Halftime - North 25, Washington 24. 3-point goals — Washington 2-9 (S. Becker 1-3, Westerfield 1-3, Belle Barker 0-3), North 1-9 (Clark 1-1, Farnum 0-6, Bourrage 0-2). Rebounds — Washington 30 (Sales 10), North 30 (Bourrage 12). Total fouls — Washington 17, North 17. Fouled out — S. Becker. Turnovers — Washington 20, North 11.