Depth and defense carry Prairie girls’ basketball past Washington, 59-31

CEDAR RAPIDS -- For more than 13 minutes, this was a competitive contest.

Then, well, it wasn’t.

Class 5A 13th-ranked Cedar Rapids Prairie stung Cedar Rapids Washington with a 23-2 third-quarter haymaker and sprinted away, 59-31, in a non-counting girls’ basketball game between the Mississippi Valley Conference rivals Friday night.

“It was still a close game, so we knew we had to keep pushing,” said sophomore Emily Larsen, who led the Hawks (3-1) with 19 points. “We came out in the second half with a lot of energy.”

Prairie collected 13 steals and forced Washington (2-5) into 25 turnovers and 26-percent shooting from the floor.

“We tried to mix up our defenses a lot,” Prairie Coach Kenyon Murray said. “And we talked about being deliberate on offense.”

The Hawks have a nice mix of experience and youth. It leads to a wealth of depth.

Brynlie Hadenfeldt (11 points, five rebounds) and Asia Beale (10 points) joined Larsen in double figures. In all, nine Hawks scored.

Larsen was 7 of 10 from the floor, and none of her three 3-pointers were of the toes-just-behind-the-arc variety.

“Kenyon knows I can shoot, and he gives me the green light,” she said.

For more than a quarter, Washington bore no resemblance to last year’s one-win squad. The Warriors led for a good portion of the first quarter, and tied it at 13-13, 15-15 and 17-17 in the second.

But Larsen drained back-to-back 3-pointers in the final 1:15 of the half to extend Prairie’s lead to 28-19, and that’s where it stood at intermission.

The Hawks held Washington without a field goal in the third quarter, extending the margin to 51-21.

Samantha Becker led the Warriors with 13 points and seven rebounds.

The rematch is Feb. 2 at Prairie. That game counts in the MVC standings.

BOYS: Cedar Rapids Washington 69, Cedar Rapids Prairie 58

Prairie cut an 11-point halftime deficit to one on two occasions, but the Warriors put it out of reach with a fourth-quarter 16-2 run.

J.J. Willis paced the Warriors (3-1) with 15 points. Kwae China and David Fason added 14 apiece.

Tanner Wachtl scored 16 for Prairie (0-2).

Cedar Rapids Prairie 59, Cedar Rapids Washington 31

At C.R. Washington

C.R. PRAIRIE (59): Nevaeh Diaz-Doolin 1-2 0-0 2, KeaOnna Worley 1-3 0-0 2, Emily Larsen 7-10 2-2 19, DeLanee Seay 2-4 0-0 4, Brynlie Hadenfeldt 3-6 4-4 11, Asia Beale 4-4 2-5 10, McKenna Murray 0-2 0-0 0, Catie Reittinger 1-3 0-0 2, Ryann Decker 0-2 7-8 7, Presley Estrada 1-1 0-1 2, Ava Van Voorst 0-0 0-0 0, Denise Steen 0-1 0-0 0, Ella Nove 0-0 0-0 0, Morgan Burhans 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 20-39 15-20 59.

C.R. WASHINGTON (31):

Elysionna Westerfield 0-8 3-4 3, Samantha Becker 4-8 5-8 13, Ava Sales 1-4 1-6 3, Lily Belle Barker 2-6 0-0 5, Hailey Becker 0-3 0-0 0, Lillie Dostal 0-0 0-0 0, JaeCis Wright 1-4 0-0 3, Amaris McFarland 0-0 0-0 0, Jamiah Malone 1-2 2-2 4, Sira Doumbia 0-0 0-0 0, Gabi Pedroso 0-0 0-0 0, Tashi Fields 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 9-35 11-20 31.

C.R. Prairie 9 19 23 8 -- 59

C.R. Washington 8 11 2 10 -- 31

3-point goals: Prairie 4-10 (Larsen 3-4, Seay 0-1, Hadenfeldt 1-1, Reittinger 0-2, Steen 0-1, Burhans 0-1), Washington 2-11 (Westerfield 0-3, S. Becker 0-1, Barker 1-4, H. Becker 0-1, Wright 1-2). Team fouls: Prairie 19, Washington 20. Fouled out: none. Technical foul: Prairie bench (scorebook). Rebounds: Prairie 19 (Hadenfeldt 5), Washington 30 (S. Becker 7). Assists: Prairie 10 (Worley, Hadenfeldt 3), Washington 4 (S. Becker, Barker 2). Steals: Prairie 13 (Worley 4), Washington 11 (H. Becker 3). Turnovers: Prairie 16, Washington 25.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com