The Washington Demons got right back to their winning ways to kick off 2026, with a sweep of Fort Madison. The girls edged out a 50-44 win, while the boys cruised to an 86-65 victory.

The Demon girls took to the floor in Fort Madison trying to break a long losing streak to the Bloodhounds, dating back to January of 2020. In the early going, Washington took the lead multiple times, only for Fort Madison to quickly tie things back up. A second quarter run helped Washington build a 10-point lead, but a small counter-run before the half allowed Fort Madison to bring things back to 6 points at the half, 26-20.

That small run would turn into a bigger problem for Washington in the third, as Fort Madison built up an 11-point swing that allowed the Bloodhounds to lead for the first time at 27-26. Although Washington was able to stem the bleeding, the two teams would then trade the lead back and forth, with a final Washington run giving the Demons the lead into the final quarter 39-34.

In the fourth quarter, Washington attempted to play into their strengths, with team playing strong defense to try and limit opportunities for Fort Madison, while trickling in points the other way. Fortunately for the Demons, it worked, as the team was able to pull away in the final 2 minutes, with Adalyn Long icing the game at the line to give the Demons a 50-44 win.

Long led all scorers with 19 points, and was joined in double digits by Reagan Miller, who had 14. Fort Madison’s Dayonna Davis had 15, including 11 in the second half, while fellow Bloodhound senior Hadley Wolfe picked up 13.

Head coach Colin Mulford says his team can compete with anyone in the Southeast Conference, because they’ve got the personnel to do it, “You know, we definitely have that confidence. Our girls have the confidence. And you know on any given night, it’s just gonna be whoever steps up. Tonight, the five that finished the game and had that run in the third quarter, three of them, were girls that come off of the bench. So it’s just what kind of girls are playing ball that night are gonna get kind of the head nod at the end of the game to close it out, and all the girls did a great job of doing their role.

The Washington girls improve to 6-2 for the season, 3-1 in the conference. Fort Madison falls to 4-3, 2-2 in conference.

After the girls, the boys took to the court, with Washington looking to avoid giving the Bloodhounds their first win of the season. Despite being 0-6, Fort Madison was a team to look out for, with 6’10” center Darius Foy returning to the lineup after being out since the start of the season. Fortunately for the Demons, Foy left the game early in foul trouble, and against a young Fort Madison side, Washington was ready to pounce. Washington opened up a 23-17 lead after the first, and pushed that lead to 16 by the half, outscoring Fort Madison 22-12 in the second quarter to lead 45-29.

With Foy returning to the lineup after the break, things got tricky again for the Demons. Foy made his presence felt inside, racking up the points quickly and slowly chipping in the Washington lead. Fort Madison got as close as 8, but Washington caught fire at just the right moment, going on a tear early in the fourth to drain the last bit of resistance left in the Bloodhounds. Washington led by as many as 24 in the fourth, eventually claiming a 21-point win, 86-65.

Four scorers finished in double-digits for Washington. Rajan Roth led with 25, Nic Stone and Drew Conrad each had 17, and Kael Williams finished with 16. Washington’s 86 points are a season high for the team.

Head coach Collin Stark says the game featured the boys at their offensive best, “After the game, we talked a little bit about how this defintely helps our offense average, but it hurts our defensive average. I just was proud of how we competed.”

Washington’s boys are now also 6-2, 3-1 in conference play. Fort Madison drops to 0-7, and 0-4 in the conference. The Demons will now split for non-conference play, with the boys taking on Clear Creek Amana on Saturday, while the girls face Marion on Monday. Washington will join back up for a conference doubleheader against Burlington next Friday.