Disterhoft and co. get by Prairie in double-OT

IOWA CITY - Iowa City West's girls' basketball team has been slowly undergoing a youth movement. It grew up in a big way Friday night.Behind all-everything senior Ally Disterhoft's 32 points, including the first five of the second overtime, West won its seventh game in a row, dispatching Cedar Rapids Prairie in a double-overtime thriller, 70-64, at West.Disterhoft, an Iowa signee, received ample support from two sophomores. Dani Craig scored 17 points and Mikaela Morgan 10 for West (13-3, 8-2 MVC).“They're getting a little more comfortable, Ally's getting a little more comfortable with them,” West coach B.J. Mayer said.“They're starting to come together a little bit better, and I think that was a big key.”Disterhoft was limited to 6 first-half points as Prairie clung to a 22-19 halftime lead.After a back-and-forth third quarter that featured three ties and eight lead changes, a three-point buzzer-beater by Prairie's Alisa Weiland (14 points) gave Prairie a 43-41 lead.In the fourth, a four-point Hawks' lead was erased by another West underclassman, freshman Laynie Whitehead, whose two free throws with 35.8 seconds left forced overtime at 54-54.“The sophomores came up pretty big for us, we hit some clutch free throws at the end of the game,” Craig said.After a 7-7 stalemate in the first extra session, Disterhoft exerted control, hitting a long three-pointer from the left corner with 2:11 remaining to give West some breathing room at 66-61.Prairie was held scoreless in the second overtime until Courteney McCrary hit a last-gasp heave from beyond the three-point line at the buzzer.After three December losses, West is 7-0 since the holiday break.“We're working together and coming more as a team, and it's really awesome,” Morgan said.“It was a learning experience for them, “ Mayer said. “They're getting a little more comfortable.”