Prairie Girls Basketball

Turnovers doom Marion girls at Prairie

Marion's spunky guard Micaela Combs was in street clothes on press row keeping her team's scorebook Tuesday night at Prairie. She winced every time her teammates lost the ball.

"I wish I was in there," she said.

The junior sparkplug has been out since the third game of the season with a stomach disorder that's put her in and out of the hospital. This was her first week back at school full-time, and she hopes to be in uniform again after the holiday break.

"We could have used her tonight," said Marion Coach Brian O'Donnell after the Indians lost their first game of the season, 59-40, to the suddenly surging Prairie Hawks.

"Micaela's an important part of our team. She's a difference-maker," said O'Donnell. "She does so many little things for us."

She's a good defender, for one thing, and an adept ballhandler. Her team needed both against a tough Prairie squad that has already surpassed last year's four-win season and is 6-3 heading into the holidays.

The Class 3A 12th-ranked Marion girls (7-1) turned the ball over 22 times in the first half alone. And no one could stop the Hawks' on-fire junior forward Courteney McCrary.

McCrary scored at will inside and out, leading everyone with 32 points on 11 of 13 shooting (including two 3-pointers) and 8 of 9 from the free throw line.

"Courteney had a tremendous game," said Prairie Coach Steve Doser. "She kept us energized and on course. We've had different people step up for us this year, and tonight Courteney had a terrific offensive game."

The lanky and long-armed McCrary also picked off five steals. Junior Alisa Weiland also came through, connecting on a trio of 3-pointers and collecting seven steals.

Some of Weiland's damage came at the start of the third quarter when the Hawks held the Indians scoreless for six minutes and went on a 16-0 run to put the game away.

"We were only down 27-25 despite all the mistakes we'd made," O'Donnell said. "But then they started to seize on every opportunity we gave them. They made an awful lot of good hustle plays."

Doser said that's what his girls lacked in the first half as they led only 25-21 going into the locker room.

"We didn't capitalize on all the steals we had. Marion did a nice job on defense taking us out of our rhythm," he said. "But we didn't play as well as we have been playing. I didn't think we were mentally ready at the start of the game."

Part of the reason, he suspects, was the emotional letdown after last Friday's stunning 63-43 shellacking of 10th-ranked Linn-Mar. Prairie superstar guard Madison Dellamuth, for instance, scored 25 points against the Lions but had only two points Tuesday night.

"She felt bad," Doser said. "She was so pumped up for Linn-Mar. I could see in her eyes she just wasn't there tonight."

O'Donnell, the second-year Marion coach who's had his team playing with grit all year, said he was pleased that his girls hung in and stayed close when they couldn't seem to hold on to the ball.

"I thought at the start Prairie did a great job controlling the tempo and forcing us to make a lot of mistakes. But we kept hustling and battled back," he said. "We played well in spurts. But you can't have lapses of two or three minutes like we did tonight."

Junior Beth Knapp was a bright spot with three 3-pointers for a team-leading nine points for Marion. Freshmen Amanda Sahm and Michalyn Mohr off the bench and provided some much-needed scoring and energy.

"This game was a good measuring stick for us," O'Donnell said. "It showed us what we have to work on and get better at. We need to do a better job on help defense. And, obviously we need to do a much better job taking care of the ball."

MARION (40): Allison Scott 0 1-2 1, Jessie Kramer 3 0-0 6, Beth Knapp 3 0-0 9, Dani Peyton 2 2-2 7, Alyssa Jones 0 2-4 2, Michalyn Mohr 3 1-1 7, Amanda Sahm 3 0-0 6, Emi Banes 0 0-0 0, Ashlin Korf 0 0-0 0, Brooke Cole 0 0-0 0, Elizabeth Deeney 1 0-0 2. Totals 15 6-9 40.

PRAIRIE (59): Katilyn Yanecek 2 0-0 4, Cyerra Hutchins 2 0-0 4, Alisa Weiland 4 0-0 11, Courteney McCrary 11 8-9 32, Madison Dellamuth 1 0-0 2, Emilie Rotter 0 0-0 0, Mackenzie Serbousek 2 0-0 4, Allison Neuhaus 0 0-0 0, Abby Ganske 0 0-0 0, Josie Wagner 0 0-0 0, Taylor Sanders 1 0-0 2, Kiana Jackson 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 8-9 59.

Halftime - Prairie 25, Marion 21. 3-point goals - Marion 4 (Knapp 3, Peyton), Prairie 5 (Weiland 3, McCrary 2).

Prairie girls stun No.10 Linn-Mar, 63-43

Steve Doser has been saying for several weeks that the Cedar Rapids Prairie girls basketball team will be fun to watch this season.

They certainly were Friday night.

Sophomore Madison Dellamuth popped in 25 points as Prairie stunned 10th-ranked Linn-Mar, 63-43, in a Mississippi Valley Conference game in the Prairie gym.

The Hawks jumped to a quick 13-0 lead and held the Lions scoreless for the first six minutes of the game. "We had to come in with intensity, just more than what they had," Dellamuth said after the surprisingly easy triumph. "I think we did that tonight."

It was a significant victory for Prairie, which won only four games last season. The Hawks are 5-3 overall and 4-2 in the Valley with lots of time to do even more damage.

"I think it was really big," Dellamuth said. "We trust each other. We have a lot of confidence in each other. We played like a team and a family."

Prairie swarmed all over the court, forcing turnovers and converting Linn-Mar's mistakes into points. The Hawks were the quicker, more aggressive team.

"We really wanted to beat them," said junior Courteney McCrary, who scored 12 points. "We knew we could beat them, and it happened. We knew we had to come out strong. We were making our shots and playing good defense."

Linn-Mar (6-2, 3-2) won the Class 4A state title in 2010 and reached the semifinals last season, but Kiah Stokes graduated and other teams - like Prairie - are catching up. Doser thinks Friday's victory could be a turning point for his club.

"Absolutely," he said. "You match yourself up against Linn-Mar. They have a great program and Mike (Brandt) does a great job. You have to match yourself up against the best and that's how you see where you're at."

Doser said it's the first time Prairie has defeated Linn-Mar since the pre-Stokes era five years ago. "It's been awhile," he said.

Linn-Mar pulled within 17-12 in the second quarter after its miserable start, but Dellamuth hit two straight 3-pointers for a 23-12 advantage. McCrary scored on a putback and hit a triple of her own, and suddenly it was 28-12 with an 11-0 run against the No. 10 team in the state.

Doser liked his team's aggressive, hard-nosed approach.

"That's what I told them: The most aggressive team is going to win tonight," he said. "And I thought our kids were really aggressive and did a nice job."

Dellamuth poured in 18 of her game-high 25 points in the first half to help Prairie grab a 37-19 cushion at intermission. The margin reached 22 points at 48-26 midway through the third period and climbed to 24 points late in the game.

Doser stresses dominating the first three minutes of each quarter, and that was the case in each of the first three periods Friday. Linn-Mar never got closer than 13 points in the second half.

"We've been telling them: The first three minutes of every quarter, you've got to own it or we'll get owned," he said. "And I thought tonight they really owned the first three minutes in each quarter really well."

Dellamuth was Prairie's starting point guard last season as a freshman, but she focused mostly on her passing and playmaking while averaging 9.7 points. She's raised her scoring average to 12.6 this season without neglecting her point-guard duties.

She hit a series of big shots Friday night, especially the consecutive 3-pointers after Linn-Mar rallied within 17-12. "This year compared to last year, I'm a little more relaxed and that helps a lot," Dellamuth said. "I've gotten used to it."

Dellamuth is being watched by Division I college basketball programs and still has 2 1/2 years left in her prep career. She's an adept ballhandler, passer and shooter.

"She looks like she's having a lot more fun than last year," Doser said. "I think she doesn't feel as much pressure. She's adding to her game, and that's trying to score more. She's always been a great distributor of the ball."

Dellamuth finished with four 3-pointers.

Courtney Major led Linn-Mar with 11 points.

LINN-MAR (43): Shanice Cheatham 1 0-0 2, Rachel Thrune 0 1-2 1, Courtney Major 4 1-2 11, Mykaela Brandt 1 4-4 7, Sara Strauel 2 1-4 5, Hannah Yearling 3 2-4 8, Kristen Eiles 2 0-0 5, Alexis Libenguth 0 0-2 0, Kelsey Duggan 0 0-0 0, Jenna Harms 0 2-2 2, Lauren Koelker 0 0-0 0, Carly Ryder 1 0-0 2. Totals 14 11-20 43.

PRAIRIE (63): Katilyn Yanacek 3 2-2 8, Cyerra Hutchins 1 0-1 2, Courteney McCrary 5 0-0 12, Alisa Weiland 3 0-0 7, Madison Dellamuth 8 5-6 25, Emilie Rotter 1 2-2 4, Mackenzie Serbousek 1 0-0 2, Abby Ganske 0 0-0 0, Allison Neuhaus 0 0-0 0, Josie Wagner 0 0-0 0, Taylor Sanders 1 0-0 3, Haley Meyer 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 9-11 63.

Halftime - Prairie 37, Linn-Mar 19. 3-point goals - Linn-Mar 4 (Major 2, Brandt 1, Eiles 1), Prairie 8 (Dellamuth 4, McCrary 2, Weiland 1, Sanders 1).

Dellamuth leads Prairie girls past Waterloo West

Madison Dellamuth scored 16 and dished out 14 assists, and Prairie used a huge third-quarter surge to whip Waterloo West, 69-54, Tuesday night in a Mississippi Valley Conference girls basketball game at Prairie.

Prairie (4-3, 3-2 MVC) led 28-22 at halftime, but outscored West 24-9 in the third period to build a 52-31 margin by halftime.

Alisa Weiland scored 14 points, Cyerra Hutchins 13 and Emilie Rotter 10 for Prairie. Dellamuth also had six rebounds and four assists for the Hawks.

"We had good balanced scoring and our press caused some problems for them," Prairie Coach Steve Doser said.

Blaire Thomas had 24 points for West (3-4, 0-4). Haley Puk had 14 points.

WATERLOO WEST (54): Hill 1 0-0 2, Moore 0 0-0 0, Husik 0 0-0 0, Stokes 0 1-2 1, Puk 2 9-9 14, Schwartzendruber 0 2-2 2, Duric 4 2-2 11, Thomas 10 4-5 24. Totals 17 18-20 54.

PRAIRIE (69): Yanecek 1 0-0 2, Hutchins 6 1-4 13, Weiland 5 1-2 14, McCrary 4 0-0 9, Dellamuth 6 0-0 16, Serbousek 2 1-3 5, Rotter 3 4-4 10. Totals 27 7-15 69.

Halftime -- Prairie 28-22. 3-point goals -- 2 (Puk, Duric), Prairie 8 (Weiland 3, McCarary, Dellamuth 4). Fouled out -- Puk.

No. 7 Washington girls pummel Prairie, 61-35

Jazz Royster topped a balanced attack with 14 points Thursday night as No. 7 Cedar Rapids Washington spanked Prairie, 61-35, in a Mississippi Valley Conference basketball game at Washington.

Danielle Franklin scored 13 points, Abby Herb tossed in 10 points and Kelli Klaus scored 10 for the Warriors (3-0, 3-0).

Alisa Weiland led Prairie (3-3, 2-2) with nine points.

PRAIRIE (35): Katilyn Yanacek 0 0-1 0, Cyerra Hutchins 3 2-2 8, Alisa Weiland 2 4-6 9, Courteney McCrary 0 0-0 0, Madison Dellamuth 3 1-3 7, Emilie Rotter 2 1-3 5, Mackenzie Serbousek 1 2-2 4, Abby Ganske 0 0-0 0, Taylor Sanders 0 0-0 0, Allison Neuhaus 0 0-0 0, Josie Wagner 0 2-4 2. Totals 11 12-21 35.

WASHINGTON (61): Abby Herb 4 2-4 10, Brooke Foreman 1 0-0 2, Madison Kramer 0 0-2 0, Jazz Royster 4 4-6 14, Danielle Franklin 5 3-6 13, Kelli Klaus 5 0-0 10, Colby Bjornsen 0 0-0 0, Aleena Hobbs 3 1-5 7, Lauren Goodlove 0 0-0 0, Shanay Gonder 0 0-0 0, Callie Stone 0 0-0 0, Devin Glenski 0 0-1 0, Renee Runge 1 0-0 2, Sophie Malcolm 1 0-0 3. Totals 25
10-23 61.

Halftime - Washington 32, Prairie 15. 3-point goals - Prairie 1 (Weiland 1), Washington 1 (Malcolm 1).