An unofficial school record was set on Tuesday night (Nov. 30) at the Warrior Gym. And Coach Frank Howell couldn’t remember the last time it happened.

All 17 players contributed and 14 hit the scoring column, as the No. 6 ranked Washington Warriors (1-0) cruised to an easy 72-35 season-opening win over Waterloo East (0-1).

“Everybody comes to  practice and works hard, so it is nice to have everybody (all) have the opportunity to get on the court a little bit and get up and down,” Howell said.

“We got out there and played hard. I thought maybe initially we had a few issues with nerves, just trying to get settled down. We were maybe hurrying it a bit too much. Overall, I thought we did a good job the first night out.”

Washington stormed to a 10-2 lead, holding Waterloo East scoreless for the first five minutes of the game, and led by as many as 27 points in the first half. The Warriors 1-2-1-1 press forced 19 steals in the first half alone as the hosts used a 16-2 lead at the quarter for a 37-10 cushion at halftime.

Waterloo East was 1-21 overall a year ago and 0-16 in the Valley Division of the MVC.

Howell used a three-platoon system for most of the second half and the rout was on. The Warriors led by 40 or more points three times in the second half. The high-water mark was 62-20 when Janay Pritchett scored a layup on the wrap-around assist from Jordan Carr.

Jordon Pilcher hit 3-for-4 three-pointers and led the Warriors with 12 points. She also had five steals. Coach Howell liked what he saw from the 5-2 guard, nicknamed “Jo Jo”.

”I thought Pilcher came off and shot the ball well tonight. That made a big difference for us. That was really encouraging. We have seen it a lot in practice and it was nice to see it transfer over into the game, too.”

To start the third quarter, Pilcher scored five quick points with a three-pointer from the top of the key and then Alissa Oney fed “Jo Jo” for a layup, making it 42-10. The Warrior starters of Oney, Pilcher, Tia Dawson, Ashley Piper and Jazz Royster sat for most of the second half.

Dawson, a Second Team All State selection a year ago, finished with 11 points (9 in the first half), seven rebounds, five steals and three blocks. “I think we played really good. We need to work on some things, but it was a good effort for our first game of the season,” Dawson said. “We need to cut down on our turnovers and run the ball more.”

Dawson will likely break the career shot-blocking record this season. She had 88 blocks last season and owns all of the single-game and season records.

Washington connected on 8-33 shots from beyond the arc (24 percent), 24-of-46 from two point range (52 percent) and 8 out of 15 free throws (53 percent). They led 60-16 after three quarters when they outscored Waterloo West 23-6 in that frame.

The Warriors lost a Regional Final to Kennedy a year ago, finishing 14-9 overall (11-5 in the MVC). Howell likes the depth of this year’s squad. “I think as the year goes along our depth will continue to develop. The potential is there for that to happen. When you look at this team, it looks like a pretty good team out there.”

The next two games will say a lot about how good the Warriors are.

“Hopefully, everyone will lock in to these next two practices because we have two pretty good opponents coming up this weekend with Waterloo West on the road on Friday and then Moline on the road on Saturday,” Howell said.

“Waterloo West (has) a lot of really good kids back, kind of similar to where we are at. They have Jaden Spencer, who is a Division I athlete who will be playing at the University of Alabama in softball. They have Jordan Johnston who also is a great shooter and they have some kids who can get up and down the floor and knock down some shots, so we will have our hands full.”

Washington won the sophomore game, 80-5.

WASHINGTON (72) Ashley Piper 2 0-0 6, Alissa Oney 1 0-0 2, Tia Dawson 5 1-4 11, Jazz Royster 1 2-4 4, Jordon Pilcher 4 1-2 12, Tasha Roundtree 1 0-0 3, Janay Pritchett 2 2-2 7, Kelli Klaus 1 0-0 2, Madison Kramer 2 0-0 4, Abby Herb 0 1-2 1, Layloni Beard 3 1-1 7, Gail Barnum 0 1-2 1, Jordan Carr 2 0-0 4, Lauren Goodlove 0 0-0 0, Brooke Foreman 0 0-0 0,  Chelsey McMahon 3 0-0 7, Callie Stone 1 0-0 2. Totals 24 8-15 72.

WATERLOO EAST (35) Daeja O’Donnell 2 0-1 4, Symone Robinson 5 2-5 12, Katlyn Kinnetz 1 1-2 3, Dakia Frazier 0 0-0 0, Shakari Baker-Bruce 3 0-2 6, Paris Smith-Walker 0 0-0 0, Heather O’Brien 0 0-0 0, Latrice McMullen 2 0-2 4, Elizabeth Buls 1 0-0 0, Joellen Hatchett 0 0-0 0, Jacklyn Riggins 2 0-0 4, Mary Carroll 0 0-0 0, Kyla Ford 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 3-12 35.

Halftime – Washington 37, Waterloo East 10; 3-Point Goals – Piper 2, Pilcher 3, Roundtree 1, Pritchett 1, McMahon 1. Assists – Piper 6, Oney 5. Steals – Pilcher 5, Dawson 5. Blocks – Dawson 3. Fouled Out – none.