IOWA CITY –The Cedar Rapids Kennedy girls basketball team’s season ended Saturday as the Cougars fell to Iowa City High, 72-47, in the state Class 4A regional semifinals.

Kennedy was led by senior guard Olivia Meier, who had 16 points in the loss. Junior guard Courtney Straight added 14.

The Little Hawks were led by senior forward Virginia Johnson and sophomore guard Mickey Hansche, who had 24 and 19 points, respectively.

The Cougars ended the season with a 9-14 record, and the Little Hawks advance to the regional final, set to take place Tuesday, Feb. 22. 

Kennedy focused much of its defensive attention on Johnson, a 6-foot-1 forward, throughout the first quarter, limiting her to only three points.

But it was Hansche who stole the show early by hitting three 3-point field goals and adding another from the field in the first quarter.

“We wanted to identify her and we didn’t do a good job,” said Kennedy Head Coach Dennis Roloff.  “She had a career night in the first half and that really hurt us.”

Kennedy was playing catch-up throughout the game. Poor shooting plagued the Cougars from the beginning, taking them nearly four minutes to register their first points in the second quarter.

Roloff addressed the team’s shooting woes and said his team dug itself into a deep hole early.

“When you’re at home and you’ve got the lead, it’s really tough to come back on a team like that,” he said.

Though the Cougars hindered Johnson’s scoring early on, she scored eight points in the second half on 4-4 shooting from the field.

“We had four girls around her at times and she still scored.  You have to take your chances with other people,”  Roloff said.

Kennedy rode poor shooting woes into the locker room, trailing 32-17 at the half.

Still fighting to keep their season alive, the Cougars switched to a 2-3 zone in the second half, trying to combat City High’s hot outside shooting, and did so successfully, holding the Little Hawks to zero made 3-point field goals in the third quarter.

Though severely outsized, Kennedy became aggressive in the third and took the game to the Little Hawks, getting to the foul line six times and cutting the lead to 10 at one point.

Yet when it seemed as if the Cougars were poised for a run, City High’s size was just too much for Kennedy.

“Their size just got to us after a while. We would block out and do so well on one side, but they would just go and get the ball on the other side (of the hoop),” Roloff said.

The Little Hawks eventually ran away with the game in the fourth quarter, again riding hot outside shooting and exploding for 26 points.

In addition to getting to the charity stripe, City High took advantage of another quarter of poor shooting by the Cougars, who had a total of seven missed lay-ups in the contest.

“The outside game in the first half gave them the lead.  They had 18 points from threes (tonight), and whenever you try and dig yourself out of a hole like that it’s pretty tough to do,” Roloff said.

CITY HIGH (72) Washpun 2 3-5 5, Sullivan 1 0-0 2, Hansche 6 1-1 19, Coleman 0 0-2 0, Chambers 4 2-5 10, Johnson 11 5-7 24, Van der Woulde 0 2-2 4, Lorenzen 2 0-0 4, Hyche 1 0-0 3.  Totals 27 13-20 72.

KENNEDY (47) Johnson 1 0-0 3, Meier 7 5-9 16, Strait 6 5-8 14, Simmons  4 2-2 2, Happel 5 1-2 3, Hildebrand 4 1-4 5. Totals 27 21-27 47.

Halftime – City High 32, Kennedy 17.  3-point field goals – City High 4 (Hansche 4), Kennedy 1 (Straight).