After a few extra days of rest, the Washington Demons got back to work against Ottumwa on Monday, with the girls falling 51-36 and the boys fighting to a 67-58 victory.
The Washington girls faced off against a strong Bulldogs team that featured three talented freshman at guard, forward, and center, and currently sit undefeated in a 4A-5A focused Iowa Alliance South. The game began with a quick 8-0 Ottumwa run, and it looked like the Bulldogs would overwhelm the Demons from the jump. However, like the Demons last contest against Tipton, Washington proved that it could hang, never quite coming back all the way, but never letting the game get out of hand. Washington trailed 14-4 at the end of the first, but an even second quarter held the deficit at 10, 24-14.
The second half saw Washington threaten the Bulldogs quite a bit, with the Demons even getting as close as 4 points. But like the Tipton game, unfortunately, it just wasn’t meant to be. Ottumwa found enough baskets to push the lead back out, and made some free throws down the stretch to claim their largest lead of the night at the final whistle, 51-36.
Adalyn Long, despite a quiet first half, turned it around to lead the Demons with 10 points. Reagan Miller had 9. Leighton Messinger added two big triples in the attempted second half comeback, and finished with 8 for the night. Ottumwa was led by 6’1″ freshman center Emma Ryder, who had 18. Fellow freshman Hayden Keith had 11, and the third freshman starter Blake Goldsmith had 8.
Head coach Colin Mulford says more confidence should fix Washington’s offensive issues. “Just having that confidence offensively. You know there’s a lot of girls, that some of the girls don’t realize how talented they are, and they’re still a little too timid this late in the season. That’s just something as coaches that we need to make sure, especially me, to make sure that these girls have confidence in themselves, so that way they have the confidence to go out and put the ball in the basket.”
Washington drops to 8-7 for the season.
The Washington boys, on the other hand, played an Ottumwa team that came in at 2-10 overall, but against 4A and 5A competition. That showed immediately as the Bulldogs gave Washington all it could handle, with a 10-0 run establishing an early 12-5 lead. The Demons would fight back with a run of their own, and eventually reclaim the lead. A turnover allowed Ottumwa to tie the game at the buzzer of the first at 17-17. In the second quarter, and for the rest of the night Washington saw heroic play from its guards. Drew Conrad, Kael Williams, and Rajan Roth all took advantage of their quickness and athleticism to get easy looks at the basket. Washington took a 32-29 lead into the half.
In the second half, Washington continued to find success, and for a brief time, it looked like the Demons were well on their way to an easy win. However, despite leading 49-41 heading into the final quarter, Ottumwa found a way to make three triples in a row to take a lead at 50-49. Fortunately, it was a hot streak that wouldn’t last, and Washington would find their way back out in front, hitting their free throws down the stretch to put the game out of reach. Washington eventually claimed the win, 67-58.
Conrad had a huge night, picking up 24 points to lead all scorers. Roth had 16, but gathered several rebounds and was an engine for the Demons. Williams also continued his solid run of form, adding 14. Ottumwa was led by Cedrik VanEngelenhoven’s 16.
Head coach Collin Stark says they knew that Washington’s guards had a key advantage over Ottumwa’s. “Well, if you look at all three of those guys’ game, and I knew Drew hit a couple threes in that first half, but all three are extremely good at getting the ball to the basket. And I think that was the mismatch between the two teams, it seemed like we could get to the bucket any chance that we wanted.”
Washington improves to 9-5 this season, matching last season’s win total.
The Demons next turn their attention back to Southeast Conference play, with Washington hosting Fairfield this Thursday. It will be senior night for the Demon seniors. You can listen to Thursday’s doubleheader on FM106.1, the KCII1 app, and kciiradio.com.