Cougars make a point for No. 1

CEDAR RAPIDS — Don't expect the Kennedy Cougars to be hitting 'refresh' on the IGHSAU website repeatedly Thursday afternoon.

'(A No. 1 ranking) would be a nice honor, but to be honest, the kids don't follow that stuff too much,' Kennedy Coach Tony Vis said Tuesday night after the Class 5A second-ranked (for now) Cougars defeated Cedar Rapids Prairie, 68-49, in a Mississippi Valley Conference girls' basketball game Tuesday night at Kennedy High School.

'If we're ranked No. 1, it doesn't put any extra pressure on us. We're going to keep doing what we're doing, and try to win one game in a row for the next seven games.'

Kennedy (13-1 overall, 7-0 MVC) won its 13th consecutive game. The Cougars could be the heir apparent for the top spot after Mason City upset No. 1 Johnston on Friday. On the other hand, No. 3 Indianola is unbeaten and put a 20-point whipping on No. 4 West Des Moines Valley since the last list came out.

'If we're No. 1, it's cool, but we're not focused on that,' Kennedy's Lela Sellers said after another stellar performance — 30 points (on 12-of-17 field-goal shooting), 11 rebounds and four assists. 'We're focused on one game at a time. Rankings are rankings.'

The last Metro team to be ranked No. 1 was Linn-Mar on Feb. 10, 2010. That team went on to win a Class 4A state championship and finish undefeated.

Time will tell what path Kennedy will take, but for the time being, the Cougars are playing high-level basketball. They shot 70 percent in the final three quarters, 57.7 percent (26 of 45) for the game.

'We pretty much ran one play,' Kennedy's Carly Langhurst said. 'If they had a small girl on Lela, we put her low. If they had a big girl on her, we put her up top.'

Both methods were effective. After trailing 14-12 after a quarter, Kennedy erupted for 27 points in the second period for a 39-24 halftime cushion.

'We couldn't have asked for a better start,' said Prairie Coach Josh Bentley, whose team played well enough to beat a lot of teams Tuesday. 'But (Sellers) ... she just demands so much attention. She's very active with the ball, and so good without it.

'She's a complete player, one of the best I've seen.'

Among the crowd was Sellers' future coach, Liberty University's Carey Green.

Sydney Hayden added 11 points for the Cougars, all in the first half. Langhurst tallied seven.

Olivia Usher paced Prairie (5-6, 3-5) with 14 points. Lynsey Altenhofen and Halle Person added 10 apiece.

Kennedy hosts Cedar Rapids Jefferson on Friday; Prairie is at Cedar Rapids Washington.

CEDAR RAPIDS KENNEDY 68, CEDAR RAPIDS PRAIRIE 49

At C.R. Kennedy

C.R. PRAIRIE (49): Sarah Schmitt 1-4 2-4 4, Taylor Moenk 0-1 0-0 0, Lynsey Altenhofen 4-11 0-0 10, Olivia Usher 5-9 2-4 14, Halle Person 5-9 0-2 10, Jenna Wagemester 0-1 2-2 2, Lauren Kuch 3-5 1-1 8, Madalynn Adams 0-2 0-0 0, Makenzie Stoffer 0-0 1-2 1, Tarryn Shreeves 0-0 0-0 0, Jordan Sanders 0-0 0-0 0, Hannah Stebral 0-0 0-0 0, Maggie Lampe 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 18-43 8-15 49.

C.R. KENNEDY (68): Carly Langhurst 2-3 2-2 7, Sydney Hayden 3-4 4-5 11, Lela Sellers 12-17 4-5 30, Hailey Dolphin 2-4 0-0 5, Linden Runels 1-3 0-0 3, Olivia Hellweg 3-5 0-1 6, Ashley Hamilton 1-3 0-0 2, Kendal Meier 0-2 0-0 0, Jordan Vaske 2-2 0-1 2, Paige Timmerman 0-1 0-0 0, Alana Steele 0-0 0-0 0, Margaret Gallagher 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-45 10-14 68.

Halftime: Kennedy 39, Prairie 24. 3-point goals: Prairie 5-18 (Schmitt 0-3, Altenhofen 2-7, Usher 2-5, Kuch 1-2, Adams 0-1), Kennedy 6-13 (Langhurst 1-1, Hayden 1-1, Sellers 2-2, Dolphin 1-2, Runels 1-3, Hellweg 0-1, Hamilton 0-1, Meier 0-2). Team fouls: Prairie 13, Kennedy 14. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: Prairie 21 (four with 3), Kennedy 28 (Sellers 11). Assists: Prairie 7 (Kuch, Adams 2), Kennedy 17 (Sellers 4). Steals: Prairie 10 (four with 2), Kennedy 10 (Hayden 3). Turnovers: Prairie 12, Kennedy 12.

l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com