Washington Girls Basketball

Clark shines as Wash girls pull upset

DAVENPORT - Joniqua Clark made a strong bid for a triple-double Saturday as the Cedar Rapids Washington girls basketball team upset 10th-ranked Davenport North, 80-69, in a non-conference game in Davenport.

Clark, a 5-foot-1 senior, finished with 23 points, nine steals and nine rebounds as the Warriors raised their record to 10-6.

Jayla Johnson tossed in 16 points for Washington and Anne Visser had 10 points.

Washington poured in 33 points in the third quarter to take control of the game.

Paige Bradford notched 27 points for Davenport North (13-3).

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Wash girls press Jeff into trouble

The speedy girls from Cedar Rapids Washington love to run and press and create as much havoc as possible on a basketball court.

It worked Friday night.

The Warriors tormented the Jefferson J-Hawks with their press in the first half and raced to a 25-point lead before settling for a 76-70 victory in a Mississippi Valley Conference game at Jefferson.

The Warriors made 20 steals and forced the J-Hawks into 31 turnovers, including 18 miscues in the first half.

Jefferson made a spirited rally in the second half and pulled all the way within five points in the final seconds, but it was too little and too late.

The shorter Warriors capitalized on their speed and athletic ability to beat the taller J-Hawks.

The basketball floor is 84 feet long and the Warriors used every inch of it to press the J-Hawks into submission, especially in the first half.

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Joniqua Clark wins Metro Spotlight Award

Joniqua Clark of Cedar Rapids Washington is the winner of the Metro Spotlight Award for high school girls this week, the Metro Sports Report announced Sunday.

Clark, a 5-foot-1 senior, is a key member of the Washington basketball team that has an 8-6 record this season following Friday night's 67-60 victory over Cedar Rapids Prairie.

Clark leads all players in Class 5A with 71 steals and she ranks sixth in Class 5A with 55 assists. Clark, an ultra-quick point guard, is averaging 8.9 points, 5.1 steals, 3.9 assists and 2.4 rebounds per game.

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Washington girls bump off Prairie

A packed house at the Washington gym Friday night got their money’s worth in the opening game of a doubleheader as the Warrior girls went right down to the wire to edge Prairie, 67-60.

It was a foul-plagued affair with 41 whistles, but fast-paced from start to finish.

And it wasn’t always pretty. Each team committed 20 turnovers. But it was exciting and entertaining the whole way.

"It was the kind of game you love to have on a Friday night,” Washington coach Frank Howell said. “Part of a doubleheader with more life in the gym. And a close game between two evenly matched teams.

“Both teams played really hard. Whichever team was going to win was going to deserve it. I’m sure it was a fun one to watch.”

That it was.

For one thing, the Warriors (8-6) relied mostly on crowd-pleasing 3-point shots. They took 31 of them (three more than their 2-point attempts). They made only nine from long range (for 29 percent), but they came at crucial times.

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