Washington Girls Basketball

Dawson sets lofty goals at Washington

Tia Dawson broke five school records at Washington last season for rebounds and blocked shots, but she’s hoping those records don’t last very long.

She wants to break them herself this year.

Dawson, a 6-foot-2 senior, set records for most rebounds in one game (22), most rebounds in one season (272), highest rebounding average (11.8), most blocked shots in one game (10) and most blocks in one season (88).

“I felt really good about it,” she said. “But this year I want to do even better and improve on those records so they can stay there for awhile.”

Dawson averaged 15.5 points, 11.8 rebounds and 3.8 blocks as the Warriors finished 14-9 overall and 11-5 in the Mississippi Valley Conference.

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Ashley Piper headed to Colorado Christian

Ashley Piper had never heard of Colorado Christian University prior to last summer, but she’s learning fast.

Piper has signed a national letter-of-intent to play basketball at the NCAA Division II school in Lakewood, Colo., next season.

Piper, a 5-foot-9 guard, is averaging 7.1 points for the Cedar Rapids Washington girls’ basketball team, which is 9-0 and ranked fifth in the state.

“They saw me play in a summer league game at Cornell,” Piper explained. “I’m really excited. The team is awesome and the coach is really cool.”

Colorado Christian Coach Tim Hays and the team have a 5-0 record in the Rocky Mountian Athletic Conference and are 6-2 overall.

Piper visited the school in September and signed in November, ending her search for a college. “I can enjoy my senior year and play basketball,” she said.

No. 5 Warriors sweep J-Hawks away

 Janay Pritchett found a small mess in the Washington locker room before the Warriors' Dec. 17 basketball game against Jefferson, so she grabbed a bucket of soapy water and a mop and took care of it.

“I just cleaned it up,” she said, without fuss.

That chore accomplished, Pritchett helped the No.5 Warriors mop up the J-Hawks with 18 points in a 71-42 victory at the Washington gym in a Mississippi Valley Conference game.

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Washington, Xavier move up in 4A

 Washington moved up one spot and Xavier three in this week’s Class 4A girls’ basketball poll released Dec. 15 by the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union.

Washington (7-0) moved up to No. 5 and Xavier (8-0) advanced to No. 7.  The Warriors beat previous No. 6 Sioux City North and Class 3A defending state champ Sioux City Heelan last weekend.  Xavier knocked off previous No. 4 Iowa City High (6-2), 37-36, Tuesday night. The Little Hawks dropped to No. 10.

The top three teams remained the same with Linn-Mar (8-0) at No. 3. The Lions also beat Sioux City North and Heelan last weekend. North (4-2) dropped to No. 9. Heelan (4-3) dropped two spots to No. 13 in the 3A poll.

Xavier plays at No. 6 Iowa City West (6-0) Friday night in a battle of ranked teams.  City High travels to Kennedy (3-3) and Washington hosts Jefferson (3-4).  Linn-Mar is idle until Tuesday, when it hosts Iowa City West.