Simplicity paying off for Prairie

CEDAR RAPIDS — Josh Bentley came to Cedar Rapids Prairie with a lot of new ideas.

In hindsight, it was too much, too soon.

'I made things more difficult than I should have,' he said.

So after a 4-18 debut season, Bentley went back to the drawing board. Back to basics.

Or, as Olivia Usher said: 'We dumbed things down.'

The Hawks look like a new team, a much better team. They held Cedar Rapids Jefferson to 20-percent shooting in a 57-31 Mississippi Valley Conference girls' basketball triumph Tuesday night at Prairie High School.

'We're just a lot more comfortable,' Usher said. 'This is a more fresh, simpler version of basketball.'

Prairie (3-2 overall, 1-2 MVC) turned the game on its ear with a 22-0 run in the first half. Down 9-7 early, the Hawks took command as Jefferson (3-3, 2-1) went cold — really cold.

The J-Hawks made just 9 of 45 shots from the floor.

'We just didn't put the ball in the hole,' Jefferson Coach Jason Edwards said. 'And at times, we lost energy. When you're constantly taking the ball out of the net, it can break your will. We just need to understand that sometimes there are nights like this.'

Seven different Hawks scored in that decisive run. Lynsey Altenhofen, Lauren Kuch and Usher drilled 3-pointers as the Hawks built a 29-9 lead late in the half. It was 33-13 at intermission.

Usher was the only player from either team to reach double figures. She collected 19 points, hitting on 7 of 10 shots from the floor.

Makenzie Stoffer added eight points. Altenhofen and Jenna Wagemester added six apiece. Halle Person snagged eight rebounds as the Hawks enjoyed a 45-31 advantage on the boards.

The margin swelled to 30 points on three occasions before Jefferson made a moderate push at the end.

'We focus a lot on defense,' Bentley said. 'I turn (assistant coach Steve) Stumpff loose on our defense, and the girls have bought in. We have good depth, and that's key.'

Kaylee Donner led the J-Hawks with seven points. Kennedy Dighton collected 10 rebounds.

Jefferson hosts Iowa City High on Friday; Prairie is at Dubuque Senior.

CEDAR RAPIDS PRAIRIE 57, CEDAR RAPIDS JEFFERSON 31

At C.R. Prairie

C.R. JEFFERSON (31): Samantha Kitterman 0-7 3-6 3, Avery Guy 2-5 2-3 6, Kylie Wise 2-7 1-2 5, Kennedy Dighton 2-5 1-3 6, Emily Oler 0-8 1-2 1, Kaylee Donner 2-10 3-3 7, Sparkle Melton 1-3 1-2 3, Madison Baxter 0-0 0-0 0, Erica Oler 0-0 0-0 0, Shavian Thurmond 0-0 0-0 0, Emily O'Brien 0-0 0-2 0. Totals 9-45 12-23 31.

C.R. PRAIRIE (57): Lynsey Altenhofen 2-4 0-0 6, Sarah Schmitt 1-8 1-1 3, Olivia Usher 7-10 4-5 19, Jenna Wagemester 3-8 0-0 6, Makenzie Stoffer 3-7 2-6 8, Taylor Moenk 0-2 0-0 0, Halle Person 2-5 0-0 4, Madalynn Adams 1-1 1-3 3, Lauren Kuch 2-6 0-0 5, Tarryn Shreeves 0-0 0-0 0, Jordan Sanders 0-1 0-0 0, Maggie Lampe 0-0 0-0 0, Hannah Stebral 1-1 0-0 3. Totals 22-53 8-15 57.

Halftime: Prairie 33, Jefferson 13. 3-point goals: Jefferson 1-15 (Kitterman 0-2, Guy 0-1, Wise 1-4, Dighton 1-3, Em.Oler 0-1, Donner 0-4), Prairie 5-17 (Altenhofen 2-3, Schmitt 0-3, Usher 1-4, Stoffer 0-3, Person 0-1, Kuch 1-1, Sanders 0-1, Strebral 1-1). Team fouls: Jefferson 12, Prairie 22. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: Team fouls: Jefferson 31 (Dighton 10), Prairie 45 (Person 8). Assists: Jefferson 2 (Kitterman 2), Prairie 7 (seven with 1). Steals: Jefferson 6 (Guy 2), Prairie 10 (Kuch 3). Turnovers: Jefferson 16, Prairie 15.

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