Cougar clinic: Kennedy rips Wash

CEDAR RAPIDS -- Jordan Holmes spent her "ice day" at home baking cookies. Madi Meier cleaned house."I dusted, I vacuumed," she said. "Honestly, I did."Friday night, the Cedar Rapids Kennedy backcourt traded their domesticity for relentlessness. Their team joined the ride.Class 5A eighth-ranked Kennedy delivered a virtually flawless first quarter, built a 22-point halftime lead and romped past No. 10 Cedar Rapids Washington, 74-49, in a girls basketball game between the Mississippi Valley Conference foes Friday night at Washington High School."I had an inkling this was going to happen," said Kennedy Coach Tony Vis. "Not the margin of victory, but that we were going to play well. A city game like this, it brings out a little extra."It was a complete effort by a complete team.Kennedy (7-1) went without a turnover -- while forcing nine -- in building a 26-13 advantage after one quarter. And the issue was never in doubt.It was 41-19 at halftime, 72-40 when both teams sat their starters with about 3 minutes to play.There was no school at either school, due to freezing drizzle and slick streets. But the game went on, and Kennedy came to play."At shootaround, I was a little tired," Holmes said. "In a situation like this, you're not sure if you'll be prepared. I guess we were."A balanced outfit all season, that continued Friday. Stephanie Botkin led the scoring with 16 points and nine rebounds. Eastern Illinois recruit Morgan Martin added 15 points and 13 boards.Meier hit four 3-pointers and scored 14; Holmes added 12 to go with an exceptional floor game -- five assists and six steals."That team was outstanding tonight in all phases," said Washington Coach Frank Howell. "They have five really, really good basketball players. They complement each other so well."We've got to find a way to get better and compete with them, because we've got to play them again."The first point of emphasis would be for the Warriors (5-2) to gain some more balance. Dani Franklin posted 18 points and 12 rebounds; Aleena Hobbs added 17 points. That accounted for more than 70 percent of the Warriors' scoring.Friday's game does not count in the MVC standings. The Feb. 11 rematch at Kennedy will.Holmes said that Vis has chided the team on occasion for not being more excited after victories."He wonders why we don't scream in the locker room," Holmes said. "Tonight, we screamed."Vis' response was brief: "Great game. Merry Christmas. See you on the 27th."It's a team that, if it plays like it did Friday, you might see into March.

CEDAR RAPIDS KENNEDY 74, CEDAR RAPIDS WASHINGTON 49

At C.R. Washington

C.R. KENNEDY (74): Madi Meier 4-7 2-2 14, Jordan Holmes 5-9 1-4 12, Paige Hendrickson 2-8 0-2 5, Stephanie Botkin 6-13 4-6 16, Morgan Martin 5-10 5-6 15, Mariah Vis 2-3 0-0 6, Brinley Milbrath 3-3 0-1 6, Abby Hellweg 0-0 0-0 0, Carly Langhurst 0-1 0-0 0, Sydney Hayden 0-0 0-0 0, Madison DeLong 0-1 0-0 0, Katelyn Dye 0-0 0-0 0, Sarah Ryder 0-0 0-0 0, Maddison Hennessey 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-55 12-21 74.

C.R. WASHINGTON (49): Aleena Hobbs 4-8 8-11 17, Jasmyne Jones 0-4 1-1 1, Dani Franklin 6-13 3-3 18, M.J. Kamin 0-3 0-0 0, Sophie Ochs 1-3 0-0 2, Joniqua Clark 2-2 1-3 5, Kiki West-Doyle 0-3 0-0 0, Anne Visser 2-8 0-0 6, Lilly Hartman 0-0 0-0 0, Courtney Squires 0-2 0-0 0, Brittany Cullen 0-0 0-0 0, Kiley Nelson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 15-46 13-18 49.

Halftime: Kennedy 41, Washington 19.

3-point goals: Kennedy 8-13 (Meier 4-6, Holmes 1-2, Hendrickson 1-2, Vis 2-3), Washington 6-22 (Hobbs 1-2, Jones 0-4, Franklin 3-8, Ochs 0-1, West-Doyle 0-1, Visser 2-4, Squires 0-2).

Team fouls: Kennedy 15, Washington 17.

Fouled out: none.

Rebounds: Kennedy 41 (Martin 13), Washington 26 (Franklin 12).

Asssists: Kennedy 16 (Holmes 5), Washington 6 (Kamin 2).

Steals: Kennedy 13 (Holmes 6), Washington 8 (Franklin 2).

Turnovers: Kennedy 14, Washington 19.