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.