Half-court press brings City High back

CEDAR RAPIDS — Bill McTaggart shook the hand of Jason Edwards and offered a small consolation:

'I told him they deserved to get a win tonight,' McTaggart said.

But his team's relentless half-court trap wouldn't let it happen.

Class 5A second-ranked Iowa City High collected eight steals in the fourth quarter and overcame a 14-point deficit to scramble past Cedar Rapids Jefferson, 55-50, in a Mississippi Valley Conference girls' basketball game Friday night at Jefferson High School.

The Little Hawks (14-0 overall, 8-0 MVC) hadn't faced much of a deficit all season, but this one was a whopper — 42-28 with 2:31 left in the third quarter.

'We knew we could come back, but we had to start playing like it,' City junior Ashley Joens said. 'When we get up and get steals, it opens up the fast break. That's what we're good at.'

Instead of crumbling, City High stormed back with a 23-2 run. Rose Marie Nkumu and Aubrey Joens made the steals, and Ashley Joens and Kenya Earl were the finishers at the other end.

'If we make it to state, these are the kind of games we're going to play, high-intensity games,' McTaggart said.

City High was within 44-36 by the end of the third quarter, then scored the first 15 points of the fourth. Aubrey Joens' two foul shots made it 51-44 with 2:14 left.

The elder Joens, an Iowa State recruit, finished with 24 points and 15 rebounds. Earl added 15 points. And somehow, the Little Hawks prevailed despite shooting 3-of-25 from 3-point range.

Jefferson (5-8, 3-4) emerged from a back-and-forth first half with a 27-24 lead, then scored the first seven points of the second half to go up 10. Kennedy Dighton's two free throws put the J-Hawks at their high-water mark of 42-28 before the game turned.

'Good teams find a way to make runs,' Edwards said. 'They increased their pressure, and we didn't match that. We had a few empty trips. We didn't have enough poise, and the credit goes to them.'

Dighton paced the J-Hawks with 17 points.

IOWA CITY HIGH 55, CEDAR RAPIDS JEFFERSON 50

At C.R. Jefferson

IOWA CITY HIGH (55): Rose Marie Nkumu 2-8 1-2 5, Sydney Schroder 0-3 0-0 0, Ashley Joens 11-19 2-2 24, Aubrey Joens 3-17 2-4 8, Kenya Earl 3-8 7-9 15, Christina Hora 1-8 0-0 3. Totals 20-63 12-17 55.

C.R. JEFFERSON (50): Kaylee Donner 1-4 1-3 3, Kylie Wise 3-6 0-0 6, Avery Guy 2-4 1-1 6, Erica Oler 2-7 0-0 4, Kennedy Dighton 5-15 3-4 17, Lindsey Culver 1-1 0-0 2, Maddy Baxter 2-6 0-0 6, Emily Oler 3-5 0-0 6. Totals 19-48 5-8 50.

Halftime: Jefferson 27, City 24. 3-point goals: City 3-25 (Nkumu 0-3, Schroder 0-2, Ash. Joens 0-2, Aub. Joens 0-9, Earl 2-4, Hora 1-5), Jefferson 7-15 (Donner 0-1, Wise 0-2, Guy 1-2, Dighton 4-6, Baxter 2-3, Em. Oler 0-1). Team fouls: City 11, Jefferson 19. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: City 38 (Ash. Joens 15), Jefferson 39 (Er. Oler 9). Assists: City 6 (Schroder, Earl 2), Jefferson 13 (Guy 5). Steals: City 18 (Nkumu 7), Jefferson 3 (three with 1). Turnovers: City 9, Jefferson 24.

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