Metro Sports Report

Sellers wins Metro Spotlight Award

Lela Sellers of Cedar Rapids Kennedy is the winner of the Metro Spotlight Award for high school girls this week, the Metro Sports Report announced Sunday.

Sellers, a 5-foot-11 senior, is one of the top basketball players in the state and has committed to play college ball at Liberty University, which is an NCAA Division I school.

Sellers had a big weekend for the Cougars in two victories over ranked teams. It began Friday night when she poured in 30 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in a 65-61 victory at fifth-ranked Iowa City High.

Prairie girls hold off Marion

Tight defense and excellent free-throw shooting can win a lot of basketball games at any level of the sport

The Cedar Rapids Prairie girls proved it Saturday afternoon.

The Hawks put the clamps on Marion star Chloe Rice and sank 23 of 25 free throws for a 56-49 victory over the Indians at the Prairie gym.

Rice, a 5-foot-10 sophomore who is being recruited by Division I schools, struggled the entire game and did not make a field goal until she banked in a long 3-pointer at the buzzer to finish with five points.

Meanwhile, Prairie marched to the foul line and hit an incredible 92 percent of its free throws to help stave off a furious rally by Marion in the fourth quarter.

Warriors whipped by Bettendorf

Cedar Rapids Washington coach Justin Decker did not like the way his team prepared for Friday night's basketball game against the Bettendorf Bulldogs at the Washington gym.

The results showed on the court.

Bettendorf killed the Warriors with put-backs and dumped the home team, 58-43, in a non-conference game.

Bettendorf scored 16 points following offensive rebounds and won the game by 15. Decker did not have to look much further to see the difference in the game.

"I figured if we were out-toughed and out-disciplined we were going to lose the game, and that's exactly what happened from the start," he said. "Our guys played hard, but I didn't think they were prepared and ready to go.

"They exposed us, obviously, on the glass. We turned it over too much. We left a lot of possessions out there. I figured if we did that we were going to lose."

'Little' Warriors race past Rams

The Cedar Rapids Washington girls basketball team might have the shortest center and the shortest point guard in Class 5A this year, but these little Warriors are sure fun to watch.

Washington used its speed and athletic ability to bounce Dubuque Senior, 77-42, Thursday at the Washington gym for its third straight lopsided victory of the season.