Spoilers, for certain: Prairie opens some eyes in a 68-42 rout of Liberty

CEDAR RAPIDS — Iowa City Liberty was the team that had everything to play for.

But it was Cedar Rapids Prairie that brought a championship-caliber effort.

The Hawks ruled the glass, particularly on the offensive end, and spoiled Class 5A 10th-ranked Liberty’s ambition of an undisputed Mississippi Valley Conference girls’ basketball divisional title, 68-42, Friday night at Prairie High School.

“We were hearing that they wanted to come here and win that championship. We weren’t going to let it happen on our home court,” Prairie’s Asia Beale said.

“We were dogs tonight. THAT was Prairie basketball.”

And it might have been a glimpse to a bright future. The majority of this young rotation returns for 2023-24, and more talent is coming.

“We’ve been up and down, but that’s the way we want to play,” Prairie Coach Kenyon Murray said. “It’s a matter of putting the ball in the basket.”

And a matter of rebounding it.

Prairie (10-11 overall, 7-7 MVC) enjoyed a mammoth 51-26 advantage on the boards, including 19-4 in the second quarter.

That’s when the Hawks turned it into a runaway, outscoring the Lightning 20-6 and building a 35-21 halftime lead.

One possession — a long possession to start the second quarter — was foretelling.

The Hawks got five offensive rebounds in one set, and Beale finished it off with a basket.

“Yeah, I remember that,” Beale said. “That’s when I split my lip. We kept attacking, attacking.”

McKenna Murray said, “When that happened, you could feel the energy shift.”

Prairie’s rebounding parade was lengthy. Freshman Emily Larsen grabbed nine boards. Beale, who led all scorers with 15 points, snagged eight. So did Catie Reittinger. Ryann Decker had six.

Friday’s result, paired with Cedar Falls’ win over Dubuque Senior, forced a tie for the MVC Mississippi Division between Liberty (13-7, 11-3) and Cedar Falls (14-6, 11-3).

It was the Lightning’s first girls’ basketball league crown in their six-year existence. But this wasn’t their night.

Full credit to Prairie, which triggered a continuous clock when it took a 35-point lead midway through the fourth quarter.

“We’ve been pumped all week,” McKenna Murray said. “We showed Tuesday (in a loss to Cedar Rapids Xavier) that we can play with the top teams in this conference.”

Nine Prairie players scored. Brynlie Hadenfeldt (11 points) and McKenna Murray (10) joined Beale in double figures. Larsen scored nine points, Decker seven, Reittinger six.

Kennedy Daugherty led Liberty with 10 points. The Hawks held Jasmine Barney to three.

“We usually put McKenna on the opponent’s best scorer,” Coach Murray said. “Her basketball IQ is pretty high.”

Cedar Rapids Prairie 68, Iowa City Liberty 42

At C.R. Prairie

IOWA CITY LIBERTY (42): Avery Gaudet 1-5 0-4 2, Jasmine Barney 1-10 1-2 3, Kennedy Daugherty 3-3 4-6 10, Ava Meyer 2-7 0-0 5, Madeline Casey 0-6 0-0 0, Janessa Mosley 3-11 1-2 8, Haley Schroeder 2-5 3-4 7, Bella Tafolla 1-3 4-4 6, Libby Allen 0-1 1-4 1. Totals 13-51 14-26 42.

CEDAR RAPIDS PRAIRIE (68): Emily Larsen 2-6 3-4 9, Nevaeh Diaz-Doolin 1-5 0-0 2, Ryann Decker 3-4 0-0 7, McKenna Murray 3-7 2-4 10, Brynlie Hadenfeldt 4-6 2-2 11, Asia Beale 6-14 3-7 15, DeLanee Seay 1-1 3-5 5, Catie Reittinger 2-2 2-2 6, Ava Van Voorst 1-2 0-0 3, Coilee Hynek 0-0 0-0 0, Lauren Keiper 0-3 0-0 0, Emma Keiper 0-1 0-0 0, Ella Nove 0-0 0-0 0, Presley Estrada 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-51 15-24 68.

Iowa City Liberty 15 6 6 15 — 42

C.R. Prairie 15 20 22 11 — 68

3-point goals: Liberty 2-22 (Gaudet 0-2, Barney 0-2, Meyer 1-5, Casey 0-3, Mosley 1-6, Schroeder 0-1, Tafolla 0-2, Allen 0-1), Prairie 7-15 (Larsen 2-3, Diaz-Doolin 0-3, Decker 1-1, Murray 2-3, Hadenfeldt 1-1, Van Voorst 1-1, L. Keiper 0-3). Team fouls: Liberty 19, Prairie 21. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: Liberty 26 (Daugherty 6), Prairie 51 (Larsen 9). Assists: Liberty 1 (Casey), Prairie 9 (Diaz-Doolin 4). Steals: Liberty 7 (Barney, Schroeder 2), Prairie 3 (three with 1). Turnovers: Liberty 8, Prairie 13.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com