The Washington Demons split its non-conference doubleheader against the Tipton Tigers on Monday, the girls falling 48-40 and the boys winning 66-43.
The Demon girls were underdogs, coming in trying to take down the 11th-ranked team in Class 3A. Early on, it seemed like they stood no chance at doing so, quickly falling behind 11-0 and failing to score a basket within the first six minutes. However, Washington began to wake near the end of the first, with Sarah Berdo putting the Demons on the board, then Adalyn Long finding the basket from deep, and finally Oaklee Sobaski hitting a runner at the buzzer to cut the lead to 13-7 after one.
From there, it was a chase. Washington’s defense would stand tall in the second quarter, holding the Tigers to just four points while cutting even further into the lead. The Demons trailed at the half 17-14. In the third quarter, the Demons finally saw their hard work pay off as they took their first lead of the game at 33-32. Unfortunately, that would be their one and only lead, as the Tigers immediately took the lead back and jumped out to a multiple possession game. Multiple fouls slowed the game down tremendously in the fourth quarter, and Tipton took full advantage. The Tigers took 19 free throws in the final quarter, hitting 13 of them, and holding on for a 48-40 victory.
Reagan Miller led the Demons in scoring with 11, including two big threes in the third quarter. Adalyn Long had 10. Tipton’s Zane Ehler led the Tigers with 14. Washington falls to 8-6 on the season, while Tipton improves to 13-1.
Head coach Colin Mulford says tonight was another good defensive performance on a night they needed it, “I thought our girls did a really good job with that for the most part, and just battling. I know at the beginning of the game it took forever for us to get offensively going, but then the lid got off the rim and our girls were having confidence in shooting the ball.”
The Washington boys, meanwhile, came into their game as heavy favorites, facing a Tipton team that had yet to win at game at 0-11. Unlike the girls’ contest, the game was never close. Washington jumped out to an early double-digit lead, and were overwhelming on both sides of the ball. Washington led 18-9 after the first, and extended that lead to 25 at 41-16 by halftime.
Coming out of the break, the momentum that the Demons had into the half seemed to disappear, with Washington only able to hit a single shot from the field in the entirety of the third quarter. Tipton reduced the lead to 15 at 49-34 entering the fourth quarter. Fortunately, the Demons saw their ability to hit shots return, and the Demons ultimately cruised to a 23-point win at 66-43.
Nic Stone led the Demons with 16 points, and was joined in double-digits by Drew Conrad and Rajan Roth, each with 14, and Kael Williams, who had 12. Tipton’s Oakley Kruse added 14 to lead the Tigers. Washington improves to 8-4 on the season, Tipton falls to 0-12.
Head coach Collin Stark says it was important to get off to a good start against Tipton, “Overall, when we were watching them play Mid-Prairie, when they were watching them play a couple of their teams, I thought they came out with fire, and I think they were even within 10 against Mid-Prairie when they played them. So we knew they were a team that we just needed to make sure we were ready to go right from the start, and making sure that we dictate what they do.”
The Washington boys will continue their non-conference tour Tuesday night, as they host Carlisle. The Washington girls, meanwhile, will rest and wait for the conference doubleheader this Friday at home against Fairfield.