Hot after halftime, Washington ‘chugs’ past Kennedy, 62-46, for 10th straight win

CEDAR RAPIDS — Samantha Becker likened her team to a train.

“We stay on the tracks, keep on chugging along,” she said.

The Cedar Rapids Washington locomotive continues to gather steam.

Class 5A fifth-ranked Washington shot 71 percent from the floor in the second half and raced past No. 14 Cedar Rapids Kennedy, 62-46, in a Mississippi Valley Conference girls basketball game Friday night at Kennedy High School.

“Going into the locker room, we had to come together, we talked about the problems we needed to fix,” Sira Doumbia said.

“We were focused on one thing ... we needed to find that connection.”

Trailing by 10 points midway through the second quarter, the Warriors (14-3 overall, 11-1 MVC) ruled the rest of the contest by a 55-29 margin and won their 10th consecutive game.

As a result, they maintained a one-game lead over Iowa City High and Cedar Falls in the MVC Valley Division with two games to play.

“We took better shots (in the second half),” Washington Coach Chris James said after the Warriors converted 15 of 21 attempts from the field after intermission. “We moved the ball better, and we finally looked into the post.”

Picking a player of the game for the Warriors would be a tough task. Becker amassed 17 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Doumbia added 16 points and eight boards.

Jayla Strong and Lily Belle Barker added 13 and 10 points, and combined for nine of Washington’s 15 steals.

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Bentley Dill paced Kennedy (11-8, 8-4) with 15 points and five assists, but the Warriors held her to 3-of-13 shooting from the floor. Addison Stallman scored 10 points.

Despite the loss, the Cougars remain a game behind Iowa City Liberty and Iowa City West in the MVC Mississippi Division race, and play both of the co-leaders next week.

Kennedy drew two early fouls on Doumbia and got out to a 17-7 lead, but Becker led the Warriors back within 23-21 at halftime.

Washington stormed in front for good with a 20-2 run in a 5 1/2-minute span in the third quarter.

The Warriors enjoyed a 21-8 rebounding advantage in the second half.

BOYS: CEDAR RAPIDS KENNEDY 81, CEDAR RAPIDS WASHINGTON 41

Washington hung close for a quarter, but Kennedy opened up a 15-point lead by halftime, and won for the 16th straight time in the series.

Justin Powell and Jaxson Bean scored 15 points apiece to pace the Cougars (10-6 overall, 6-4 MVC). Kaden Gomez added 14 points.

Traeshon Fields tallied 17 points to lead Washington (6-10, 4-6).

Cedar Rapids Washington 62, Cedar Rapids Kennedy 46

At C.R. Kennedy

C.R. WASHINGTON (62): Jayla Strong 5-9 2-5 13, Lily Belle Barker 3-5 4-5 10, Samantha Becker 7-14 2-2 17, Hailey Becker 0-3 0-0 0, Sira Doumbia 7-10 2-4 16, Gabriela Pedroso 2-5 2-4 6, Tashiyana Fields 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 24-48 12-20 62.

C.R. KENNEDY (46): Bentley Dill 3-13 8-9 15, Payton Thier 3-4 1-3 9, Alaina Canney 3-4 0-2 6, Lola Sain 1-8 0-2 2, Addison Stallman 3-9 1-2 10, Alaysia Williams 0-4 0-0 0, Isabella Senters 2-4 0-0 4, Abby Wedemeier 0-0 0-0 0, Emerson Blocker 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 15-46 10-18 46.

C.R. Washington 5 16 23 18 — 62

C.R. Kennedy 10 13 8 15 — 46

3-point goals: Washington 2-11 (Strong 1-3, S. Becker 1-4, H. Becker 0-2, Pedroso 0-2), Kennedy 6-16 (Dill 1-2, Thier 2-3, Sain 0-2, Stallman 3-7, Williams 0-2). Team fouls: Washington 19, Kennedy 19. Fouled out: Doumbia. Rebounds: Washington 34 (S. Becker 9), Kennedy 29 (Dill, Canney 5). Assists: Washington 14 (S. Becker 4), Kennedy 10 (Dill 5). Steals: Washington 15 (Strong 5), Kennedy 5 (Dill 2). Turnovers: Washington 15, Kennedy 21.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com