DUBUQUE – The Washington Warriors wanted to hold Dubuque Wahlert to less than 50 points on Dec. 14. Mission accomplished.

 Coach Frank Howell and his No. 6 ranked team used a 20-10 burst in the third quarter to defeat the Golden Eagles in a grind-it-out Mississippi Valley Conference game, 54-41.

“The big mission tonight was to try and keep them from breaking fifty,” Howell said. “We figured if we could keep them below fifty (points) we would have a good chance of winning the game.”

No Warrior got to double figures in scoring, but it was defense that paved the way for the Warriors’ seventh straight win.

 “I was just really pleased with the effort on the defensive end of the court. Other than giving them too many second shots in the second quarter, I was pretty pleased and that was the primary thing we wanted to accomplish,” Howell said.

 Howell said he looked at Tuesday night’s game as a dangerous outing.

“We figured it would be a kind of grind it out type of game. That is kind of the way they play. Their record doesn’t indicate where they are at,” Howell said of Wahlert. “I thought psychologically this could be kind a trap game for us. We’ve been traveling and we have beaten some highly touted teams. And Wahlert has played some tough teams and they have had a tough schedule.”

The Warriors (7-0, 4-0 MVC) had to spend an extra night in Sioux City last weekend due to bad weather and did not get back to Cedar Rapids until Sunday afternoon. They defeated a pair of ranked teams in back-to-back games at Sioux City North and Sioux City Bishop Heelan.

 “We were coming off a weekend where we went all the way to Sioux City and didn’t get home until Sunday afternoon. Then, we had to get in the bus and get over to Dubuque on Tuesday,” Howell said. “That is always a concern when you have multiple games when you have been traveling. So, given those circumstances we were able to come over to Wahlert and play pretty well and find a way to win.”

The Warriors got busy early when Ashley Piper drilled a 3-pointer and then got a lay-up, giving her team a 12-6 advantage. When Jazz Royster streaked down court for a full court feed and easy basket, suddenly it was 14-6. The Warriors led 16-8 after the first quarter, before Jordon “Jo Jo” Pilcher came alive with a bomb from behind the arc, a steal and a layup, to make it 23-11. Wahlert fought back on the offensive glass with Tess Leytem hitting from 15-feet along the baseline, before Logan Lynch drilled a 3-pointer and then a 9-footer from the short corner, to cut the margin to 23-19 at halftime.

 But it was all Warriors in the third frame as they went on a 13-0 run to start the quarter. When Wahlert called a timeout at the 3:13 mark, it had yet to score a point. On the ensuing play, Alissa Oney got a steal and a lay-up, and the score was 36-21. Washington’s biggest lead of the game was 14 points in the decisive third period. The teams played to a 11-11 tie in the final eight minutes of play.

 “I keep preaching the defense and rebounding because that always gives us a pretty good chance to win on the nights where we don’t shoot well or we are not shooting well,” Howell said.

 The Warriors “nickel and dime” effort included Pilcher and Royster with nine points each, Tia Dawson and Oney with eight points apiece, Piper scored seven, Madison Kramer and Layloni Beard had four points, and Abby Herb scored two.

“We had pretty good balance overall,” Howell said. “In the second half, we did a better job of not giving them second chances. e didn’t get too concerned with a comeback bid because we didn’t get them any second shots.”

 Dawson led the Warriors with nine rebounds, while Pilcher had four steals and Oney four assists.

 Dubuque Wahlert (1-5, 1-4) was led in scoring by Amy Ihm and Tessa Leyton with 10 points each.

 The Warriors connected on 4-of-21 shots from behind the arc (19 percent) and 18-of-39 from two-point range (46 percent) and 6-of-11 three throws (54 percent). Overall, they hit 37 percent of all shots (22-of-60).

 Howell sees the season as a work in progress, but likes this very deep and talented group.

 “A lot coaches try to break the season down into three parts. We are already through the first part of the season. We have played some good teams and beaten some good teams. From where we are now, I am really pleased with the first part of our season,” he said.

 The Warriors play an important game Friday night against Cedar Rapids Jefferson in a boy-girl doubleheader.

 “Last year we played them right before Christmas and they beat us pretty badly. I’m hopeful that we’ll put out a better performance Friday than what we did a year ago,” Howell said.

 Washington won the sophomore game in double-overtime, 65-63.

WASHINGTON (54): Piper 3 0-0 7, Oney 3 1-2 8, Pilcher 4 0-0 9, Pritchett 1 0-0 3, Kramer 1 2-2 4, Royster 4 1-2 9, Roundtree 0 0-0 0, Beard 1 2-2 4, Herb 1 0-0 2, Dawson 4 0-3 8, Carr 0 0-0 0, Foreman 0 0-0 0, Klaus 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 6-11 54.

WAHLERT (41): Till 2 3-6 8, Walker 0 0-0 0, Ihm 4 2-2 10, Lynch 4 0-0 9, Leytern 5 0-0 10, Smith 0 0-0 0, Tranel 0 1-2 1, Schmitt 1 0-0 3. Totals 16 6-10 41.

Halftime — Washington 23, Wahlert 19. 3-point goals — Washington 4 (Piper 1, Oney 1, Pilcher 1, Pritchett 1), Wahlert 3 (Till 1, Lynch 1, Schmitt 1).