Cougars bring Roloff to the brink of 300

CEDAR RAPIDS -- Dennis Roloff is a people person, not a numbers person.But he's on the cusp of a nice, round numeral.Cedar Rapids Kennedy led from wire to wire and got points from 11 players in a 66-44 Mississippi Valley Conference girls' basketball stroll against Cedar Rapids Jefferson Friday night at Jefferson High School."We're playing well together right now," said junior Courtney Strait, who led the Cougars with 17 points. "We're doing it for our seniors, and we're doing it for our coach."Roloff, who will retire as a teacher after the school year (and is pondering stepping down as a coach), earned his 299th win at Kennedy. He can earn No. 300 Saturday, when the Cougars host Marion."I've never been big into numbers, especially about myself," Roloff said. "I like to think I've thought of the girls first."Still, he understands the moment might get to him if and when the milestone happens."I might cry," he said. "Heck, I might let them shave my head."Kennedy (7-13 overall, 6-10 MVC) was the superior team all night. There are no big run, just a slow, steady pullaway.The Cougars led 19-12 after one quarter, 37-22 at halftime, 54-29 after three quarters."The more we play together, the more we do the right things," said Kassi Nunnikhoven.Strait was the lone Cougar in double figures, but four other players scored six points or more. Olivia Meier tallied nine, Nunnikhoven eight. Kennedy got 21 points from its bench.Britteny Steffeny led Jefferson (7-14, 5-11) with 12 points. Kaitlyn Davidson added 11.Kennedy took 69 shots from the field, compared to 39 for Jefferson."We just didn't play hard enough," said Jefferson Coach Larry Niemeyer. "It's that simple. It's nothing magical."Steffeny hit a half-court shot during halftime of the boys' game, winning dinner for four once a month for a year at Applebee's.

AT C.R. JEFFERSON

C.R. KENNEDY (66): Olivia Meier 4-11 1-1 9, Courtney Strait 7-16 0-0 17, Kassi Nunnikhoven 4-5 0-0 8, Shauna Happel 2-7 0-0 4, Kali Hildebrand 3-5 0-0 7, Kristen Huebsch 1-3 0-0 2, Kaylese Johnson 2-4 0-0 6, Mariah Simmons 0-1 0-0 0, Ashley Schlueter 0-0 3-4 3, Kim Muench 2-4 0-0 4, Katherine Schulz 1-3 0-0 2, Dominique Wright 1-3 0-0 2, Valerie Ross 0-2 0-0 0, Capria Davis 1-2 0-0 2, Marissa Klinger 0-2 0-0 0, Haley Corkery 0-0 0-0 0, Grace Reinhart 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 28-69 4-5 66.

C.R. JEFFERSON (44): Kaitlyn Davidson 4-5 2-2 11, Ashley Madsen 0-1 0-0 0, Taylor Jacobson 3-11 2-4 9, Rachel Broghammer 3-9 2-2 8, Britteny Steffeny 4-11 4-4 12, Madeline Koolbeck 0-1 0-0 0, Danielle Stromert 0-0 0-1 0, Alleigha Green 0-0 2-2 2, Madison Blietz 0-0 0-0 0, Whylie Massey 0-0 0-0 0, Amber Grimm 0-1 2-3 2, Kieley Brathwaite 0-0 0-0 0, Kadijah Bush 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 14-39 14-19 44.

Halftime: Kennedy 37, Jefferson 22.

Team fouls: Kennedy 18, Jefferson 10.

Fouled out: none.

3-point goals: Kennedy 6-15 (Meier 0-1, Strait 3-6, Happel 0-1, Hildebrand 1-2, Johnson 2-3, Wright 0-1, Davis 0-1), Jefferson 2-5 (Davidson 1-2, Jacobson 1-2, Steffeny 0-1).

Rebounds: Kennedy 39 (Meier, Strait, Nunnikhoven 6), Jefferson 26 (Broghammer, Steffeny 7).

Assists: Kennedy 18 (Meier, Schlueter 3), Jefferson 5 (Madsen, Jacobson 2).

Steals: Kennedy 9 (Strait 4), Jefferson 9 (Madsen, Jacobson 2).

Turnovers: Kennedy 15, Jefferson 19.