When she was a sophomore, Madi Meier listened and learned.

Meier was part of a trio of talented sophomores who played with senior all-stater Courtney Strait in 2011-2012 . Strait made the point almost daily that the sophomores needed to be confident and play up to their abilities.

Now it is Meier’s senior season. The message she and teammates Paige Hendrickson and Jordan Holmes received hasn’t been forgotten. This season’s edition of the Cougars don’t have to rely on a trio of sophomores as they did in Strait’s time, but much of the depth comes from a trio of talented 10th graders off the bench.

That was evident in Tuesday night’s 67-45 victory over Cedar Falls. Coach Tony Vis was able to rotate 10 players in and out while the Tigers relied on a seven-player rotation.

Meier, who led a balance Cougars’ offense with 14 points, knows the development of the younger players will be critical if Kennedy is to make a run at a Mississippi Valley Conference Mississippi Division title.

“Courtney would always tell us before the games not to be afraid to shoot,” Meier said. “That’s exactly what we tell the sophomores right now, don’t be afraid because we know you can do it because you are better than a lot of the people you are playing against.”

The sophomores – Carly Langhurst, Brinley Milbrath and Sydney Hayden – didn’t put up impressive scoring numbers, combining for just seven points against the Tigers. That wasn’t at all a concern for Vis.

“Anytime you play the number of kids we play there are going to be times when it is not as free flowing,” he said. “And the other thing you can factor in that this is just Game 2. We just need to stay at our level and stay focused for 32 minutes. I think we’ll get there, but it is going to take time.

“It’s a big jump for the sophomores,” Vis continued. "Last year they were playing freshman basketball. The MVC is a tough place for sophomore to cut their teeth and learn, but I think they will get there.”

Hendrickson was quick to agree with Vis and Meier about the value of the talented sophomore trio.

“With the underclassmen, it is nice because we have a super-deep bench,” she said. “It’s nice because if somebody is having an off night, we will have somebody on the bench who can come in and give us a spark.”

Not only does Vis have depth, he has versatility. Cedar Falls’ 6-foot-3 center Madison Wood was giving the Cougars fits early. Vis made some adjustments, going to a quicker lineup that got Wood in foul trouble. She fouled out early in the fourth quarter, finishing with 11 points.

“Madison Wood is a great player,” Meier said. “She clogs up the lane and it is harder for us to get to the basket. When she was out, it was a lot easier for us to break in and make the lay-ups.”

Holmes was the only other player in double figures for the 2-0 Cougars, finishing with 11 points. Addison Long led Cedar Falls (1-1) with 12 points.

CEDAR FALLS (45):  Symone Robinson 1  0-0 2, Jamie Becker 1 0-0 3, Emma Gerdes 2 2-2 7, Addison Long 4 2-4 12, Lauryn Kramer 0 0-0 0, Ellie Burken 0 0-0 0, Madison Wood 5 1-2 11, Adrienne Boettger 5 0-0 10, Martee Grainger 0 0-0 0, Allison Griffin 0 0-0 0.  Totals 18 5-8 45.

C.R. KENNEDY (67):  Madi Meier 44-6 14 , Jordan Holmes 4 2-3 11,  Paige Hendrickson 2 4-7 8, Stephanie Botkin 4 2-3 10, Morgan Martin 1 5-6 8, Carly Langhurst 0 0-0 0, Sydney Hayden 2 0-0 5, Brinley Milbrath 1 0-0 2, Mariah Vis 0 0-0 0, Madi DeLong 3 0-0 6, Abby  Hellweg 0 0-0 0, Madi Hennessey 1  0-0 3, Sarah Ryder 0 0-0 0.  Totals 22 15-25 67.

Cedar Falls         10   7  14  14 – 45
C.R. Kennedy    16  14  17  18 – 67

3-point  goals – Cedar Falls 4 (Long 2, Becker, Gerdes), Kennedy 6 (Meyer 2, Holmes, Hendrickson, Hayden, Hennessey) Total fouls: Cedar Falls 22, Kennedy 14. Fouled out: Wood. Technical fouls: none. Turnovers: Cedar Falls 21, C.R. Kennedy 12.