The Washington Demons will look to get back into the fight for first place in the Southeast conference Friday, as the girls and boys face off against Keokuk in a doubleheader you can hear on KCII.
The girls, fresh off a resounding win over West Liberty, will look to finally get over the Keokuk mountain. The Demons have not defeated the Chiefs since 2014, and came very close to doing so earlier this year before falling 49-41. Washington held an early lead in that game, before an injury to leading scorer Adalyn Long shifted momentum and allowed Keokuk to capitalize. Long, coming off of a 12 point game against the Comets, still leads the team in scoring, assists, and steals, but the Demons will look for another well-balanced attack like the one they had at West Liberty.
Keokuk is led primarily by their star, senior Kendra Boatman, a massive scoring threat that is averaging 27.3 points per game this season. Boatman is a do-it-all player for the Chiefs, also leading the team in assists while also being top three in rebounding. Boatman’s support includes Elizabeth Mason, a junior who is also deep into double-digit scoring this year at 14.2 points per game. Junior Nevaeh Logan pulls down 11.7 rebounds per game, good for a top 20 spot amongst all players in the state.
Head coach Colin Mulford kept it simple when describing his keys to Friday’s game. “Gotta win the rebounding battle first, I know they got us at our place, gotta take care of the rebounding battle. Gotta pretty much limit Boatman and Mason’s opportunities offensively, and we just have to make sure we get good shots.”
Meanwhile, the Washington boys get another crack at Keokuk and their 6’10” superstar, senior center Jaxon Clark. Clark dominated the last game between the two, scoring 28 in what was a 78-42 win. Washington’s strength has come from their ability to depend on multiple players for baskets, including Rajan Roth, Nic Stone, and Drew Conrad. Keokuk can typically depend on Clark, who is scoring 30.1 points per game this season and averaging 16.4 rebounds per game, but senior Chayse Smith (12.0 PPG) and sophomore Jalen Clark (10.8) are more-than-capable scorers in their own right.
Head coach Collin Stark lamented not being able to play again so quickly after recent successes, but said it did still give the team a full week to prepare for a tough opponent. “You know, when you’re playing well, you want to keep playing. You know, and now obviously, we had a tough one (against Burlington) tonight so, we’ve got four days next week. We’ll get a film day on Monday, and we’ll make sure that we make those adjustments probably Tuesday, and really make our focus and gameplan for Keokuk Wednesday and Thursday, and be ready to go down there and hopefully give them a battle.”
Tonight’s doubleheader begins with the Washington Demon Pregame Show at 5:30 p.m. followed by the girls tipoff at 6. The boys will follow the conclusion of the girls game.