Washington's Franklin, Hobbs got a lot of help in big win

Frank Howell got on the bus Tuesday night and unleashed a statement into Twitterverse that spoke volumes:"No one can comprehend how proud I am of my Warriors after tonight!"

Cedar Rapids Washington put a jolt into the Mississippi Valley Conference upper heirarchy, knocking off Class 5A third-ranked Waterloo West in remarkably decisive fashion, 81-68.

"I didn't see that coming," Howell said the following morning. "To be honest, I wasn't sure anybody in the league was going to have a shot at any of the top three teams (West, Iowa City High and Cedar Rapids Kennedy."

Washington did, though, building a 26-point lead. And the Warriors laid to rest any theory that they're merely a two-girl show.

Yes, Dani Franklin and Aleena Hobbs combined for 43 points. But Washington (8-3 overall, 6-1 MVC) got more-than-adequate production from Courtney Squires, Anne Visser and Kandis O'Donnell, among others.

Six different Warriors drained at least one 3-point goal.

"I'm very pleased with that," Howell said. "It's something I thought we were capable of doing."

The victory moved Washington a game ahead of West (10-2, 5-2) in the Valley Division standings, with Linn-Mar (9-4, 5-1) wedged in between. The Warriors host Cedar Rapids Prairie in a non-conference game Friday.

"I don't want us to fall in love with ourselves because of this one game," Howell said. "But I do want us to believe in ourselves."

THE SOMMERS: A DUAL ACHIEVEMENT

If data from the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union is accurate, the Sommer twins have made state history.

Katie Sommer scored 21 points Tuesday in Linn-Mar's victory over Dubuque Hempstead, raising her career total to 1,013.

Her twin, Kristie Sommer, reached the milestone a week earlier and stands at 1,011 points.

IGHSAU archives show several sister tandems to hit the 1,000-point mark in five-player basketball (the Frese sisters and the Caveys are two examples). But the Sommers appear to be the first twin set to pull it off.

The twins moved to the Linn-Mar district last summer, before their senior year began; they had played for Dubuque Senior before that.

Katie is averaging 15.9 points per game this season. Kristie is averaging 15.4, but missed the last two games after suffering a concussion in a loss to Cedar Falls last Friday.

In the first game of Kristie's absence, Katie scored 33 points in a loss to Pleasant Valley."(Kristie) is day-to-day," Linn-Mar Coach Mike Brandt said. "She's doing well, but we're taking it slow."

Linn-Mar is at Iowa City High on Friday.

ANOTHER TWIN TALE

It has been six years since Dyersville Beckman's last winning season, but the Blazers are making a sudden charge behind the Klostermann twins.

Juniors Blair and Brooke Klostermann are averaging 17.5 and 12.5 points respectively.

Beckman (5-6 overall, 4-5 Wamac) takes a three-game winning streak into Thursday's game at Solon.