Short-handed Washington drops its season opener to Valley, 59-46

CEDAR RAPIDS — Chris James said his team “will look a lot different in three weeks.”

Might not take that long.

Class 5A 10th-ranked Cedar Rapids Washington was without all-stater Samantha Becker, and suffered a 59-46 loss to No. 11 West Des Moines Valley in a non-conference girls’ basketball game Friday night at Washington High School.

“Hopefully we have her back by Waukee Northwest (Dec. 1), and definitely the games after that,” said James, Washington’s head coach, in reference to Warriors’ top player, who is easing her way back after minor knee surgery.

“She’ll make a big difference, particular in ball handling.”

That was the Warriors’ bugaboo Friday; they committed 27 turnovers, including 16 steals by the Tigers (1-0).

Eight of those steals came from sophomore Jenna Fuller, who led all scorers with 20 points.

Even without Becker, Washington (0-1) was right there late. The Warriors trailed 48-44 with 4 minutes left in the game before Valley scored 11 straight to pull away.

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Sira Doumbia, a 6-foot-4 junior center, led Washington with 16 points and nine rebounds.

“As a freshman, I was really soft, both mentally and physically,” Doumbia said. “Sophomore year, I started to not care what people thought, and worked harder on my game.

“Now, I’m doing the same things, but better.”

Washington got out to a 16-12 lead after a quarter, but the turnovers started to catch up with the Warriors and Valley took a 27-23 advantage into intermission.

“The mistakes we made, we can fix,” Doumbia said. “They’re nothing major.”

Valley hit 7 of 12 3-point attempts in the second half. Three additional players scored eight points or more to complement Fuller’s 20.

Washington got nine points from Jayla Strong, eight from Lily Belle Barker.

West Des Moines Valley 59, Cedar Rapids Washington 46

At C.R. Washington

WEST DES MOINES VALLEY (59): Kari Rose 1-5 5-5 8, Baileigh Uthoff 1-2 0-0 3, Tylee Weite 2-13 1-2 6, Avery Moon 2-5 0-0 4, Olivia Adams 3-4 0-0 9, Jenna Fuller 7-12 3-7 20, Tenleigh Uthoff 3-5 1-4 9, Taylen Weite 0-1 0-0 0, Dahmynique Davis 0-1 0-0 0, Jaelynn George 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 19-48 10-18 59.

C.R. WASHINGTON (46): Jayla Strong 4-7 0-0 9, Gabriela Pedroso 0-5 1-2 1, Lily Belle Barker 4-8 0-0 8, Hailey Becker 2-3 1-2 6, Sira Doumbia 7-11 2-3 16, Aniya Wahe 0-1 0-0 0, Tashiyana Fields 2-7 0-0 6, Maija Wickum 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 19-43 4-7 46.

WDM Valley 12 15 15 17 — 59

C.R. Washington 16 7 13 10 — 46

3-point goals: Valley 11-29 (Rose 1-4, B. Uthoff 1-2, T. Weite 1-9 Moon 0-1, Adams 3-4, Fuller 3-6, T. Uthoff 2-3), Washington 4-16 (Strong 1-3, Pedroso 0-1, Barker 0-3, Becker 1-2, Wahe 0-1, Fields 2-6). Team fouls: Valley 15, Washington 12. Fouled out: B. Uthoff. Rebounds: Valley 22 (T. Weite 5), Washington 35 (Doumbia 9). Assists: Valley 12 (B. Uthoff 3), Washington 12 (Becker 4). Steals: Valley 16 (Fuller 8), Washington 11 (Becker 6). Turnovers: Valley 17, Washington 27.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com