Having the home-court advantage didn't quite work out to Cedar Rapids Washington's satisfaction on Rivalry Saturday.

The fifth-ranked Warriors played No. 2 Southeast Polk extremely tough into the fourth quarter before falling, 64-60, in a non-conference girls basketball game.

Washington dropped to 8-4. Southeast Polk is 15-1.

Washington put together a couple good runs at the beginning of quarters, but it was the Rams that had the final say with a run early in the fourth to take control of a back and forth battle.

"There were runs in both directions," Washington Coach Frank Howell said. "The clock runs out on someone."

Washington went in to the final eight minutes down 49-48, but quickly took the lead. But the Warriors left key points on the floor as they struggled to finish in the paint.

"I don't know what it was. Sometimes they make them and sometimes they miss them," Howell said of his team's low-post play. "We did the hard part by getting in position, then we just didn't convert."

Southeast Polk answered in a big way when sharpshooter Whitney Van Wyk, who played about half of the game because of foul trouble, finally put her mark on the game with two big 3s to spark an 8-0 run in the fourth quarter for the Rams.

"They hit big shots down the stretch," Howell said. "I thought Van Wyk really showed great composure."

The run put the Rams up by six. It was a gap the Warriors were unable to close as Southeast Polk hit key free throws down the stretch.

The Warriors came out fired up and put together an 8-2 run out of the gate up seize control early. The Rams bounced back to take a 16-14 lead after one period.

The Warriors put together some spurts of excellence in the second quarter but still trailed a deep Rams team by three at the break.

The Rams' bench carried them when their starters struggled. Southeast Polk's bench outscored the Washington bench 25-3 in the game.

"It's not a concern, it has been the other way around (at times this year)," Howell said of the bench scoring disparity.

The Warriors put together a 6-0 run in the third that put the pressure on the Rams going into the fourth.

But the Rams put together their run and hit free throws while Warriors struggled from the line, shooting just 37.5 percent from the charity strip in the second half. They shot 50 percent for the game.

"It hurt as much as anything as in the game," Howell said of his team's free throw shooting. "It could have changed the complexion of the game."

Juniors Madison Kramer and Abby Herb led four Warriors in double digits with 14 apiece. Sophomore Dani Franklin and senior Jazz Royster added 13 and 10, respectively.

Washington gets back to conference play Monday when it visits 10th ranked Iowa City High. 

WASHINGTON (60): Abby Herb 7 0-1 14, Madison Kramer 5 1-2 14, Jazz Royster 3 4-6 10, Tasha Roundtree 3 0-0 6, Danielle Franklin 6 0-1 13, Brooke Foreman 0 0-0 0, Colby Bjornsen 0 1-2 1, Aleena Hobbs 0 2-4 2, Kelli Klaus 0 0-0 0. Team 24 8-16 60.

SE POLK (64): Whitney Van Wyk 2 0-0 6, Megan Bianchi 0 3-4 3, Caitlin Ingle 3 4-6 10, Jessica Gardner 2 2-3 6, Annie Penquite 4 4-4 14, Rachel McCloskey 0 0-0 0, Victoria Bricker 4 3-5 11, Jessica Cole 4 0-1 12, Lauren Solseth 0 2-2 2, Kristy Adey 0 0-0 0. Team 19 18-25 64.

Halftime -- SE Polk 31, Washington 28. 3-point goals -- SE Polk 8 (Van Wyk 2, Penquite 2, Cole 4), Washington 4 (Kramer 3, Franklin). Total fouls -- SE Polk 17, Washington 21. Fouled out -- Roundtree.