Demons cruise past Savages

A quick start put the Washington girls? basketball team in the driver?s seat early on Monday night.

Hosting a nonconference game against Sigourney, the Demons cruised to a 65-40 victory to open the week, and to close out a stretch of three games in four days.

?At times we looked tired, but we could bring five more (girls) in, and at times we were rotating five at a time,? Washington first-year head coach Jordan Bentley said. ?Both groups were playing so well and could do the things we wanted to do. I think they are tired, but we pushed through that wall.?

The win puts Washington at 2-3 on the season, ending the Demons? three-game losing streak.

Getting back in the win column was important for the Demons, who will take on conference foe Keokuk on Friday night.

?We really needed it,? Washington senior Brynna DeLong said. ?I think we were losing our confidence, and we?ve been trying to stay positive. Coach has been telling us we?ll get better, but we needed that.?

DeLong finished the contest with 11 points in the game in addition to her nine rebounds.

The Demons jumped on top early, opening the game with a 10-2 run, before taking a 17-10 lead into the first quarter break, led by five first-quarter points from junior Lexi Redlinger, who finished the game with nine points.

The Demons played evenly in the second quarter, taking a 32-23 lead into halftime.

In the second half, the Demons came firing out of the gates, going on a 12-3 run led by six Addie Pacha points.

The Demons continued pulling away, with Sarah Nacos putting in seven fourth-quarter points to finish with a team-high 16 for the game.

?Any time you get to play 10 kids in a game, you are doing something right,? Bentley said. ?And they all contributed and were focused in the game. We attacked the basket well and got some run-outs and layups. We pushed the pace.?

Pushing the pace for the third game in four days has taken its toll on the Demons, however.

?We are extremely tired,? Redlinger said. ?Definitely winded out.?

With a conference matchup with Keokuk waiting in the wings on Friday night, the Demons hope to rest up and get ready for a team that swept Washington in play last season.

?We need to go out in the first quarter and give it our all,? Redlinger said. ?Against Fairfield, we did that in the second (half) and gave it our all. If we would have done that in the first half, then it would have been a lot closer.?

Tip-off for the home doubleheader will be at 6:15 p.m.