After a blowout loss at Kennedy last Friday the Jefferson J-Hawks made some changes for their non-conference girls basketball game with Davenport Central.

Jefferson left their 1-3-1 zone at home and went instead with a full court pressure man to man defense. The defense and the J-Hawks' big night at the free throw line carried them to a 73-42 win.

“The 1-3-1 worked for a while, but by putting more pressure on a team it will keep us upbeat,” Kaitlyn Davidson said.

“The up tempo style will all us to match other MVC teams style of play,” Maddie Koolbeck added. “It will keep us upbeat and allow us to take away some of (opponents') outside game.”

The J-Hawks (6-8) hit 29 of 35 free throws.

“We tried to take it in on them and up the court because they were being aggressive and we knew we could draw fouls,” Davidson said.

Jefferson Coach Larry Niemeyer also inserted junior Dani Stromert back in to the starting lineup and used sophomores Maddy Blietz and Kieley Brathwaite off the bench to add some depth after an injury plagued first half of the season.

“It helped because it got us some breathers which help especially with us playing more up tempo,” Davidson said.

“The breathers will help us stay up tempo on defense,” Koolbeck added. “It will keep our legs fresh.”

An animated Niemeyer got his girls fired up early as they used the Lady D’s turnovers and a quick start from Davidson to jump out to a 15-6 lead. Davidson made two 3-pointers in the quarter.

“They just really didn’t guard me in the first half,” Davidson said. “The second half I was still open the shots just weren’t falling.”

Jefferson pushed its lead to 35-17 by halftime.

Jefferson continued to hit from the free throw line in the second half and Koolbeck found some space inside score nine points.

“It definitely helps if a teammate gets hot on the perimeter to help free up the middle,” Koolbeck said. “I also tried to go up stronger in the second half.”

Davidson led four J-Hawks in double figures with 17. Koolbeck added 14. Juniors Rachel Broghammer and Taylor Jacobson scored 11 and 10, respectively.

Jefferson will face a tougher foe when it travels to eighth ranked Cedar Rapids Xavier on Friday.

Koolbeck and Davidson thought Tuesday's game helped them see how the defense will work but know it needs to improve.

“It allowed us to see how it would work,” both said. “Our help defense needs to improve.”

Davenport Central dropped to 2-9.

JEFFERSON (73): Kaitlyn Davidson 5 4-4 17, Dani Stromert 0 2-3 2, Taylor Jacobson 4 2-3 10, Rachel Broghammer 4 3-4 11, Maddie Koolbeck 4 6-8 14, Madison Blietz 1 4-4 6, Kieley Brathwaite 2 5-6 9, Alleigha Church-Green 0 2-2 2, Kylie Jonas 0 0-0 0, Hannah Towns 0 0-0 0, Molly Evans 1 0-0 2. Team 21 29-35 73.

DAVENPORT CENTRAL (42): Maggie Van Camp 0 0-0 0, Makayla Buck 1 3-4 5, Kali Gahagan 2 0-0 4, Alyssa Scott 4 1-4 9, Joceyln Jackson 2 1-4 5, Keiarey Nathan 1 2-4 4, Ashley Rivers 2 1-2 5, Heather Vieger 2 0-0 4, Rodkeesha Jackson 1 0-0 2, Savannah Moeller 2 0-0 4, Dustin Sexton 0 0-0 0, Terrianna Hicks 0 0-0 0, Tamerianna Milton 0 0-0 0. Team 17 8-18 42.

Halftime – Jefferson 35, Central 17. 3-point goals – Davenport Central 0, Jefferson 3 (Davidson 3). Total Fouls – Davenport Central 23, Jefferson 15. Fouled Out – Rivers. Technical Fouls – Tom Eagle (Davenport Central Coach).