They may be the best team in the state with six losses, but that’s little consolation for the Washington Warrior girls basketball team that fell to ninth-ranked Waukee, 56-54, in a non-conference battle Saturday night at the Warrior gym.

No. 7 Washington (10-6) has now lost three of its last five games. Four of the Warriors' six losses have been by five points or less.

Waukee Coach Chris Guess enjoyed the payback win.

“We are very pleased to get that win,” he said. “There is a little bit of history here when four years ago in the state semifinals and it went down to the wire again and unfortunately for us, Washington got us at the Wells Fargo Arena at the state tournament when it counted and they got into the championship game.”

Saturday night was a different story as Waukee (13-5) led from start to finish and never allowed the Warriors a lead. Washington did cut the margin to a single point twice in the fourth quarter.

“Frank (Howell) does a great job with this program,” Guess said, referring to Washington's coach. “They are so deep and they have talent. To come over here and get out with a win is a big plus for us going into tournament time.”

Guess said Washington compares favorably with some of the better teams in the Central Iowa Metro League (CIML).

“They would be very similar to an Ankeny, to a Mason City, to Southeast Polk, Dowling,” he said. “We face teams like this on a regular basis. It is a grind.”

Waukee looked sharp with great ball handling, passing and shooting and hit big shots when it counted most. They led by as many as 13 points in the second half before the Warriors mounted a nice comeback.

Washington trailed 25-16 at the half, but used a 9-0 run late in the third quarter to cut it to 42-35 after three sessions of play. When Tasha Roundtree got to the rim for a layup early in the fourth quarter, the hosts had cut the margin to 42-41. But that’s when Waukee answered.

Megan Goodson nailed two 3-pointers, along with one other field goal in back-to-back-to-back possessions, giving her team a 48-43 edge.

“We had some kids step up when we needed it,” Guess said.

But the Warriors still made a game out of it. Roundtree and Danielle Franklin drained 3-pointers and suddenly it was 50-49.

Taylor Wingert’s 8-footer in the lane with 1:35 left kept Waukee ahead, 54-49. Megan Shryack splashed home two free throws with 43 seconds to play and the visitors led by five, 56-51. But the never-say-die Warriors found ways to stay alive.

Abby Herb sank one of two free throws, Goodson missed the front end of a bonus free throw try, and Roundtree made a layup with 12 seconds left. Suddenly, it was 56-54.

Applying full court pressure, the Warriors fouled Britney Boland, but she missed the front end of the one-and-maybe and Herb got the rebound, making an outlet pass to Roundtree who raced up court and missed a tough layup with four second left. The rebound rolled to the other side of the rim, Roundtree collected it and managed a pass to Madison Kramer, who stepped out of bounds under pressure with less than a second to play. Waukee made the ensuing inbounds pass as time expired.

“We got some great minutes from several girls,” Guess said. “We gave up 18 offensive rebounds and still found a way to win.”

The Warriors were led by Herb, who had a nice outing with 13 points and nine rebounds. Roundtree brought nice energy with 10 second-half points (15 for the game) to go with seven rebounds and five assists.

Goodson led all scorers with 17 points (including three 3-point goals) and four assists. Wingert had 10 points and four assists, while Boland played a solid game with 13 points and seven boards.

Washington was a miserable 5-for-29 shooting in the first half. The Warriors finished 19-of-59 (32 percent) and just 2-of-10 from behind the arc. Waukee shot 45 percent from the floor, including 6-of-17 three-point shooting.

Washington has four remaining games before regional play begins. The Warriors play at Iowa City Regina on Tuesday night.

WAUKEE (56):  Taylor Wingert 5 0-0 10, Megan Goodson 7 0-1 17, Ellie Bunz 0 0-0 0, Megan Shryack 2 2-2 6, Britney Boland 4 3-7 13, Sarah Ripperger 0 0-0 0, Amy Nestingen 2 3-3 7, Ellie Cavanaugh 1 0-0. Totals 21-25 8-13 56.

WASHINGTON (54): Abby Herb 4 5-8 13, Madison Kramer 1 2-2 4, Jazz Royster 1 4-8 6, Danielle Franklin 3 0-0 7, Kelli Klaus 1 1-2 3, Brooke Foreman 1 0-0 2, Aleena Hobbs 1 2-3 4, Tasha Roundtree 6 2-2 15, Colby Bjornsen 0 0-0 0.  Totals 18-59 16-25 54.

Halftime - Waukee 25, Washington 16. 3-point goals - Washington 2 (Franklin, Roundtree), Waukee 6 (Goodson 3, Boland 2, Cavanaugh). Rebounds - Washington 35 (Herb 9), Waukee 19 (Boland 7, Nestingen 7). Steals - Washington 7 (Kramer 2, Royster 2, Roundtree 2), Waukee 7.Turnovers - Washington 14, Waukee 13, Assists - Washington 9 (Roundtree 5), Waukee 11, Fouls - Washington 15, Waukee 17, Fouled Out - None.