Washington Girls Basketball

Ashley Piper enjoys life at Colorado Christian

Ashley Piper was a member of a talented senior class on the Cedar Rapids Washington basketball team last season that sent four players to college teams.

Tia Dawson, the star center, went to Dartmouth. Alissa Oney, the point guard, went to Maryville. Janay Pritchett, a top reserve, went to William Penn. Piper, a wing player, went to Colorado Christian.

They're all playing college basketball as freshmen - one of them in New Hampshire (Dawson), one of them in Missouri (Oney), one of them in Iowa (Pritchett) and one of them in Colorado (Piper).

Colorado Christian is located in Lakewood, Colo., not far from Denver. "I like it. It's awesome," said Piper.

Piper, a 5-foot-10 guard, has started all 11 games for Colorado Christian and is averaging 7.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 assist. She's shooting 43.3 percent from the field, 36.7 percent on 3-pointers and 88.9 percent at the foul line.

"I think I've been playing all right, but it could be better," she said.

Colorado Christian did not announce its starting lineup for the season opener in advance and Piper was delighted to hear her name. "I was surprised," she said.

Piper scored a season-high 16 points against Cal Lutheran and 12 points against Colorado Mines.

Dawson has started all 10 games at Dartmouth and is averaging 6.4 points and 6.2 rebounds with 23 blocked shots. Oney has played in all nine games at Maryville and is averaging 4.6 points. Pritchett has appeared in 10 of 14 games (with one start) and is averaging 4.7 points at William Penn.

Cedar Rapids Washington compiled a 19-4 record last season and reached the Class 4A state tournament, but all four of the college freshmen are playing with teams with losing records. Dartmouth is 2-8, Maryville is 3-6, William Penn is 3-11 and Colorado Christian is 3-8.

No. 5 Wash girls stunned by Waterloo West in OT

Turnovers and free throws. That’s pretty much all you need to know.

Waterloo West shot a remarkable 47 free throws and forced Washington into a jaw-dropping 37 turnovers Tuesday night in an exciting Mississippi Valley Conference game at Washington.

Those numbers helped Waterloo West stun the fifth-ranked Warriors, 83-80, in overtime.

Washington (5-1, 5-1) lost for the first time this season, while Waterloo West moved to 6-4 overall and 2-4 in the MVC.

“We turned the ball over too much,” Warrior boss Frank Howell said. “But one of the things we didn’t do was quit even when we were down three in the closing seconds of the game. We kept fighting and kept hanging around.”

Howell said he was surprised by the WaHawks' halfcourt trapping defense that forced his squad into 13 turnovers in the first quarter alone.

“They kind of snuck up on us a little bit because they ran a defense I hadn’t seen them run before,” he said. “They caught us off-guard and the turnovers, especially in the first quarter, were probably the difference in the game.”

Washington trailed by as many as eight points in the second half and closed the margin to 55-51 after three quarters. Danielle Franklin’s 3-pointer from the right side with two seconds to play for the Warriors sent the game into overtime, 74-74.

Trailing 83-80 in the extra stanza, Colby Bjornson had a decent look in the final seconds, misfiring on a 3-point bomb that would have sent the game into double overtime. The horn sounded as her shot hit the rim.

“That was pretty exciting,” Howell said. “Colby had a good attempt to try and send it into double overtime and it just rimmed out on her a little bit. Otherwise, we might still be playing out there.”

Upset-minded Waterloo West needed the rare feat of three players scoring 20 or more points to clip the taller and deeper Warriors. Sophomores Blaire Thomas (28 points) and Haley Puk (27 points) combined with multi-sport star Zinka Duric (20 points) to do nearly all the damage. Only one other WaHawk player scored. Thomas scored 14 points in each half.

Howell said he was impressed with Thomas.

“She does a good job whether converting on the fast break or the half-court sets in establishing position down on the block,” he said. “She uses her body really well and they had numerous three-point play opportunities.”

Washington was led in scoring by Franklin, who had a trio of 3-pointers for a career-high 27 points, six rebounds and five assists. Kelli Klaus added 20 points and a team-high eight rebounds.

Washingon scored 12 more field goals that Waterloo West, but lost the game by making 33 less free throws. The Warriors were just 3 of 7 from the foul line, while Waterloo West drilled 36 of 47 charity tosses. The Wahawks got into the double-bonus with 7:40 to play in the fourth quarter.

Washington welcomed the return of Tasha Roundtree, who was playing her first game since being declared ineligible for 30 days for academic reasons. She had six points and six assists and played significant minutes before fouling out.

“It was great to have Tasha back out there,” Howell said. “We are going to need her.”

The score was tied 36-36 at halftime. Waterloo West led 15-14 after the first quarter. There were eight ties in the first two quarters, but the Warriors led only once in the second half, 67-66, with 1:56 to play following a Roundtree driving layup.

In the overtime, Waterloo West attempted to milk the clock and hit a remarkable 13 of 16 free throws. Abby Herb sank an eight-footer in the lane with 23 seconds left for Washington to cut the lead to 81-80, but Waterloo West called timeout and then broke the fullcourt press, forcing Washington to foul.

Puk’s two free throws with 16 seconds left were the final points of the game. Bjornson launched an air ball from behind the arc with five seconds on the clock and Thomas was called for traveling before Bjornson missed again from long range as the horn sounded.

“It was a good sign for us to remain competitive when we had three kids foul out of the game,” Howell said. “It is just one of those things. It is just a crazy league this year. If you look at who is beating who, it doesn’t really matter the next night out.

"We’ve just got to make up our mind that despite losing this game, which we really wanted to win, that we are going to learn from it and move on and get better.”

Washington hosts top-ranked Iowa City West in its first outing after the Christmas break on Jan. 3.

WATERLOO WEST (83): Ashley Hill 1 6-6 8, Makayla Stokes 0 0-0 0, Haley Puk 5 15-19 27, Zinka Duric 5 9-10 20, Blaire Thomas 11 6-12 28. Totals 22 36-47 83.

WASHINGTON (80): Jazz Royster 6 1-2 13, Madison Kramer 2 0-3 4, Kelli Klaus 10 0-0 20, Abby Herb 5 0-0 10, Brooke Foreman 0 0-0 0, Aleena Hobbs 0 0-0 0, Colby Bjornson 0 0-0 0, Danielle Franklin 11 2-2 27, Tasha Roundtree 3 0-0 6. Totals 34 3-7 80.

Halftime - Washington 36, Waterloo West 36. 3-point Goals – Waterloo West 3 (Puk 2, Duric 1), Washington 3 (Franklin 3). Fouled out – Royster, Foreman, Roundtree.

Warriors race past J-Hawk girls, 66-39

Washington used its size inside and its all-around depth to race past Jefferson, 66-39, Friday night in a Mississippi Valley Conference girls basketball game at Washington.

Danielle Franklin and Kelli Klaus had 13 points apiece to lead the No. 5 Warriors (5-0, 5-0 MVC). Aleena Hobbs added 11 points. Klaus also grabbed seven rebounds. Brooke Foreman had six assists.

Washington used a full-court trapping defense to force 22 turnovers. The Warriors also played 14 players while Jefferson played just five.

Jefferson (4-5, 1-5) was led by Rachel Broghammer's 17 points. Maddie Koolbeck and Kaitlyn Davidson had nine points apiece.

Washington kept Jefferson scoreless in the first 3 1/2 minutes of the contest, rolled up a 35-14 halftime lead, and had nine Warriors figure in the scoring.

“I’m pleased with our efforts on the offensive glass and I hope by our depth that we are difficult to defend because so many players have contributed thus far in the season,” Washington Coach Frank Howell said.

Though Madison Blietz ended the J-Hawks scoring drought in the first quarter with her only field goal at the 4:20 mark, it was Broghammer doing the bulk of the scoring.

Coach Larry Niemeyer noted that Jefferson doesn’t have a lot of size, but three kids have been playing pretty well and he has been using five players quite extensively. He said he  hopes to have standout Taylor Jacobson back after the holidays. She has missed eight games with a high-ankle sprain.  Only eight J-Hawks were suited up against Washington.

Jefferson is off until Jan. 3 when it faces Dubuque Senior. Washington hosts Waterloo West on Tuesday.

JEFFERSON (39): Kaitlyn Davidson 3 0-0 9, Madison Blietz 1 0-0 2, Dani Stromert 1 0-0 2, Rachel Broghammer 6 5-10 17, Maddie Koolbeck 4 1-3 9. Totals 15 6-13 39.

WASHINGTON (66): Abby Herb 2 0-0 4, Lauren Goodlove 0 0-0 0, Brooke Foreman 0 0-0 0, Colby Bjornsen 2 0-0 4, Devin Glenski 1 0-0 3, Madison Kramer 3 2-3 8, Jazz Royster 3  2-2 8, Callie Stone 0 0-0 0, Danielle Franklin 5 3-3 13, Aleena Hobbs 4 3-4 11, Kelli Klaus 6 1-2 13, Shanay Gonder 1 0-0 2, Renee Rungee 0 0-0 0, Sophie Malcolm 0 0-0 0. Totals 27 11-14 66.

Halftime -- Washington 35, Jefferson 14. 3-point goals -- Jefferson 3 (Davidson 3), Washington 1 (Glenski). Fouled out -- None. Total fouls -- Jefferson 10, Washington 16.

Pep talk spurs Warriors to big home win

Call him a prophet. Call him psychologist. Frank Howell doesn’t care.

Howell used a bit of both in urging his No. 7 Washington girls basketball team to a hard-fought 50-44 victory over No. 6 3A Dubuque Wahlert at the Warrior gym Tuesday night.

During the timeout following the third quarter, the Warriors longtime head coach said to his team, “Wahlert is one of the best teams in 3A and that’s why they are ranked. This is going to be a big win. Now go get it!”

And they did. Led by super-sophomore Danielle Franklin’s career-high 25-point night, the Warriors overcame a sluggish start and hit clutch free throws in the final seconds to win their fourth straight contest of the young season. Wahlert fell to to 4-2.

“I kind of wanted to paint a little bit of a picture before we went back out there,” Howell said of his animated pep talk before the fourth quarter. “Early in the fourth quarter it didn’t look like it was going to materialize, but we had some players that made some big plays.”

None played bigger than Franklin, who bombed in 3-of-6 3-pointers on an 8-of-15 shooting night. She also had a team-high eight rebounds, all while coming off the bench.

“We worked really hard and found openings and played good team defense,” the soft-spoken and humble Franklin said. “Wahlert is strong and they have some really good players.”

Howell said that he wants Franklin to have the green light.

“You want her to have a shoot-or-else type of ultimatum because of the type of shooter that she is,” Howell said. “They switched into that zone and we had to have someone to knock down some perimeter shots. Had that not happened it would have been a different night.”

Washington trailed 12-1 to start the game, scoring only one field goal late in the first quarter. Wahlert led 14-5 and 18-15 after the first and second quarters. In the third frame, Washington got momentum on a flurry of Franklin scoring, including a three-point play and two 3-pointers, all in a span of three minutes. The hosts won the third quarter, 16-11, to grab a 31-29 edge.

That set the stage for Howell’s fiery pep talk.

“I felt a lot better after the first quarter became a distant memory,” Howell said. “I was proud of how we played in the next three quarters.”

Howell blamed the slow start on missing some easy shots.

“People have said forever with this game that if you keep playing defense then you can chip away and give yourself a chance,” he said. “We got Danny (Franklin) loose and she knocked down some shots and gradually things turned around for us.”

In the end, great clutch free throw shooting won it for the Warriors as Jazz Royster, Abby Herb and Franklin all made both free throws in a 1-and-1 situation with under a minute to play.

But it was a game that was in doubt until the final seconds.

Trailing 39-37 in the fourth quarter, Franklin brought her team back,  converting a layup while being fouled off a Colby Bjornson steal with 3:55 to play. She made the free throw to give her team a 40-39 lead.  Aleena Hobbs hit a slicing layup with 1:49 left to provide a 42-39 cushion, but Wahlert kept on the attack.

Tessa Leytem banked in a layup and was fouled, and got the three-point play as Washington clung to a 44-43 lead with 1:16 to play.  Royster, who was in foul trouble much of the night, made her only points on two foul shots with 38 seconds left. Herb drained two more with 21 seconds to play and Franklin sealed the win with 13 seconds left, calmly netting two free throws.

Wahlert was led in scoring by Leytem with 15 points. University of Iowa signee Claire Till was held to just eight points.

“I thought we did a great job on Till,” Howell said. “She’s a great talent and has been in this league for four years. She’ll have a nice college career. I was really pleased with our ability to lock down on defense.”

Wahlert Coach Kris Spiegler was disappointed with the loss.

“It was a battle as it is always is in the MVC,” she said. “Franklin killed us. We never got into an offensive sync. Washington is pretty big across their front line.”

Both teams shot 30 percent from the floor and had 27 rebounds apiece. Wahlert had 23 turnovers and Washington 17.

The Warriors will soon welcome the return of senior guard Tasha Roundtree, who has been ineligible the past month. She will be able to play on December 20 against Waterloo West.

The Warriors host Jefferson on Friday night in a girl-boy doubleheader.

DUBUQUE WAHLERT (44) Claire Till 2 1-1 8, Beth Walker 0 4-8 4, tessa Leytem 3 3-3 15, Olivia Smith 1 2-2 5, Tori Ochs 0 0-0 0, Marissa Cody 2 3-5 7, Mitter 2 1-2 5. Totals 14 12-20 44.

WASHINGTON (50) Jazz Royster 0 2-2 2, Madison Kramer 0 1-2 1, Kelli Klaus 1 0-5 2, Abby Herb 4 2-2 10, Brooke Foreman 1 1-2 3,  Aleena Hobbs 3 1-2 7, Colby Bjornson 2 0-0 5, Danielle Franklin 5 6-8 25.  Totals 17 13-23 50.

Halftime - Wahlert 18, Washington 15. 3-point goals – Washington 3-15 (Franklin 3). Wahlert 4-12 (Till, Smith, Leytem 2). Fouled out – None.