Prairie continues late-season surge

CEDAR RAPIDS — No sense in waiting until November for this proclamation. May as well get it out there now.

Cedar Rapids Prairie is going to be a handful next season.

The Hawks' young backcourt is growing before our eyes, and the progress took another leap Tuesday night in a 68-56 Mississippi Valley Conference girls' basketball win over Cedar Rapids Jefferson at Prairie High School.

'I don't know if they know — or if we as coaches know — how good they can become,' Prairie Coach Josh Bentley said. 'There's a lot of potential there if they continue to work hard.'

Prairie (8-12 overall, 6-6 MVC) won for the fourth time in the last five games. The Hawks are 4-2 this season against their Metro MVC rivals, splitting with both Cedar Rapids Xavier and Linn-Mar and beating Cedar Rapids Washington, and now Jefferson.

The Hawks built a 34-17 halftime lead, and the margin was 54-32 entering the fourth quarter before Jefferson (10-10, 6-6) made a late push.

Kennedy Dighton's scoop made it 57-48 with 4:00 left, then the Hawks regained control.

Prairie's starting guards — Sarah Schmitt, Sid McCrea and Mallory McDermott — are a sophomore and a pair of freshmen.

'I know we're a young team, and (Jefferson) has a lot of senior experience,' McCrea said. 'But we thought if we drove the lane, and either went to the basket or kicked it out, we could put some pressure on them.'

McCrea led the Hawks with 21 points, Schmitt added 18.

'We couldn't stay in front of them,' Jefferson Coach Jason Edwards said. 'We challenged the girls because we knew were capable of playing better, but we couldn't dig ourselves out of that big hole.'

The Hawks committed just eight turnovers; Jefferson was guilty of 21.

Jefferson led 9-7 late in the first quarter, then Prairie went on a 16-3 run behind a series of successful drives through the lane, and the margin stayed in double digits most of the rest of the way.

Dighton paced Jefferson with 14 points. Erica Oler posted 10 points and 12 rebounds, and Kaylee Donner dished out nine assists.

Jefferson guard Kylie Wise was home with the flu.

CEDAR RAPIDS PRAIRIE 68, CEDAR RAPIDS JEFFERSON 56

At C.R. Prairie

C.R. JEFFERSON (56): Madison Baxter 4-11 0-0 10, Kaylee Donner 1-3 3-6 6, Avery Guy 2-6 2-4 8, Kennedy Dighton 5-12 2-4 14, Emily Oler 3-4 2-2 8, Erica Oler 4-6 2-6 10, Lindsey Culver 0-2 0-0 0, Shavian Thurmond 0-0 0-0 0, Sage Hoger 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-44 11-22 56.

C.R. PRAIRIE (68): Sarah Schmitt 5-17 7-11 18, Sid McCrea 8-13 3-3 21, Mallory McDermott 3-10 1-2 7, Maggie Lampe 0-1 1-2 1, Lauren Kuch 0-1 0-0 0, Jenna Wagemester 4-8 0-0 8, Halle Person 1-3 0-0 2, Rachael Kilpatrick 1-2 1-3 3, Makenna Moenk 2-3 1-3 5, Nicole Sullivan 1-1 0-0 3. Totals 25-60 14-24 68.

Halftime: Prairie 34, Jefferson 17. 3-point goals: Jefferson 7-18 (Baxter 2-6, Donner 1-2, Guy 2-3, Dighton 2-6, Culver 0-1), Prairie 4-9 (Schmitt 1-4, McCrea 2-3, McDermott 0-1, Sullivan 1-1). Team fouls: Jefferson 16, Prairie 18. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: Jefferson 35 (Er.Oler 12), Prairie 37 (Wagemester 10). Assists: Jefferson 11 (Donner 9), Prairie 11 (Schmitt 6). Steals: Jefferson 6 (Em.Oler 3), Prairie 9 (Schmitt, Kuch 2). Turnovers: Jefferson 21, Prairie 8.

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