Prairie gets frustrating win over Jefferson to open regional play

CEDAR RAPIDS — It's a little early for March Madness. But the Cedar Rapids Prairie girls' basketball team experienced plenty of February Frustration. And that's even in a 43-29 win over Cedar Rapids Jefferson to send it to a Class 5A regional final.

'The ball wasn't really going in tonight,' Prairie's Sarah Schmitt said. 'We had some struggles rebounding, especially on the defensive end. They got a lot of second chances.'

That showed early on for the Hawks. Some inconsistencies and missed defensive assignments allowed Jefferson to keep the game close.

Early in the first quarter, the J-Hawks could barely find room to get off a shot.

'They did a really good job of taking (Erica) Oler away from us,' Jefferson Coach Jason Edwards said. 'Every time she touched the ball, there were 3-4 people right there.'

The second quarter was a different story. The J-Hawks broke through when Kaylee Donner landed a layup to give Jefferson an 11-10 lead just minutes into the quarter.

'We gave up some uncontested shots, which we don't like to do,' Prairie Coach Josh Bently said.

Prairie finally found a hot hand late in the half. Schmitt scored the game's next six points to put Prairie back on top, 16-11, with 3:20 to play until half. Jefferson junior Emily Kuba connected on a trey from the corner late in the half to cut the Prairie halftime lead to 19-15.

'Overall, I feel like our girls came in confident and believed they had a chance,' Edwards said. 'I really liked where we were at halftime.'

Prairie's offense shook off the frustration of the first half. Sid McCrea connected on a pair of threes and the Hawks built a 29-18 lead in the third quarter.

'I think we got a lot of penetration and that got us some open looks,' said McCrea, who finished with 15 points. 'I think as a team, we really picked up the energy in the second half. '