Washington Girls Basketball

Tia Dawson accepts Dartmouth offer

Cedar Rapids Washington senior Tia Dawson has accepted an offer from Dartmouth College to pursue an Ivy League education and play NCAA Division I basketball.

Dawson struggled with the decision, uneasy with the notion of going so far from home, but finally decided the offer was too good to refuse. Dartmouth is located in Hanover, N.H.

"I had to decide by Friday, but they gave me until Monday because I was still on the edge of whether I should go or not," Dawson said Tuesday. "So last night (Monday night) they called and I made up my mind I was going to go there."

Dawson said she actually reached her decision Saturday night, but kept it a secret until Monday. "I didn't tell anybody," she said.

"I didn't tell my mom until I was on the phone with the coach," she said. "I wanted it to be a surprise for her. She was kind of scared that I was going to say no."

Ivy League schools do not offer athletic scholarships, but they can provide academic scholarships and need-based grants in their financial package. It costs approximately $55,000 per year to attend Dartmouth, and Dawson said the school will cover about 95 percent of her costs.

Dawson, a 6-foot-2 senior, is averaging 11.5 points, 10.6 rebounds and 3.8 blocks for Washington, which is ranked No.6 in Class 4A with a 17-3 record heading into postseason play. She holds the career record for blocked shots at Washington.

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Warriors sting No. 2 Linn-Mar, share MVC title

Frank Howell entered the Washington locker room Thursday night and got an ear-piercing ovation from his jubilant players.

A few minutes later, seniors Tia Dawson, Alissa Oney and Ashley Piper popped out of the visitors locker room with big, happy smiles and plenty of emotion.

The sixth-ranked Warriors upset No.2 Linn-Mar in overtime, 53-46, to grab a share of the Mississippi Valley Conference title and hand the Lions a rare loss on their home court on Senior Night.

"Just amazing," said Oney, whose long 3-pointer gave Washington the lead for good in overtime. "We feel so happy about this. We found out they hadn't been beaten here in three years, so it's obviously a great accomplishment for us."

Washington tied Linn-Mar for the Mississippi Division title in the MVC with 14-2 records in the final game of the regular season. Waterloo West (13-2) can grab a piece of the Mississippi crown as well with a victory over Cedar Falls Friday night, so there's likely to be a three-way tie.

The Warriors were aiming for a piece of the crown and they got it with a strong effort.

"It feels really good," said Dawson, who excelled on defense against Kiah Stokes despite playing the fourth period and overtime with four fouls. "Yeah, really happy."

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Balanced Warriors bop Cedar Falls

CEDAR FALLS -- The No. 7 ranked Washington Warriors won their 16th game in 19 tries this season with a convincing 59-39 victory Tuesday night in a Mississippi Valley Conference girls game.

Tia Dawson paved the way with 11 points, 14 rebounds and four blocked shots. Ashley Piper hit two 3- pointers enroute to a game-high 13 points and also collected six rebounds. Alissa Oney added seven points and five assists.

The Warriors led 29-20 at halftime and netted 6-of-13 3-pointers (46 percent) and 5-of-11 free throws (45 percent). Washington hit just 22-of-73 field goals (30 percent), but forced Cedar Falls into 32 turnovers and dominated the glass, 37-24.

Washington moved to 16-3 overall and 13-3 in the league. Cedar Falls is 4-16, 2-13.

WASHINGTON (59): Jazz Royster 2 1-2 5, Tia Dawson 4 2-5 11, Jordon Pilcher 2 0-0 6, Alissa Oney 3 0-0 7, Ashley Piper 5 0-0 13, Janay Pritchett 1 0-0 2,  Madison Kramer 0 1-2 1, Tasha Roundtree 1 0-0 2, Layloni Beard 2 0-0 4, Gail Barnum 0 0-0 0, Jordan Carr 0 0-0 0, Kelli Klaus 0-0 0-0 0, Chelsey McMahon 1 0-0 3, Abby Herb 2 1-2 5, Brooke Foreman 0 0-0 0, Lauren Goodlove 0-0 0-0 0, Callie Stone 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23 5-11 59.

CEDAR FALLS (39): Alexandra Wirth 1 2-3 4, Alana Alberts 2 0-0 4, Britney Conrad 1 3-4 6, Emily Neff 2 4-5 8, Krystal Graves 2 3-3 7, Kaz Brown 1 0-1 2, Katie Freidel 3 0-0 6. Totals 12 12-16 39.

Halftime -- Washington 29, Cedar Falls 20. 3-point goals – Washington 6 (Piper 2, Pilcher 2, Oney, McMahon), Cedar Falls 1 (Conrad).

No. 7 Warriors race past Kennedy

Kennedy tried to run with the Washington girls basketball team Friday night, but the result was not pretty.

The seventh-ranked Warriors ran the Cougars out of the gym, 77-43, on Hall of Fame Night at Washington.

Tia Dawson collected 18 points, 12 rebounds and six blocked shots for Washington (15-3, 12-2) in the Mississippi Valley Conference game.

The Warriors were too fast, too deep and too talented for Kennedy (6-12, 5-9). The Cougars committed a string of turnovers against Washington's fullcourt press and fell deeper and deeper behind as the mismatch continued.

Washington led at halftime, 43-29, then blew to a 64-35 bulge late in the third quarter. The Warriors reached the 70-point mark early in the fourth period and Coach Frank Howell yanked Dawson and the rest of his starters shortly after.

Ashley Piper and Janay Pritchett tossed in 11 points apiece for Washington, which saw 13 players dent the scoring column.

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