Demons keep Bloodhounds on a leash

The Washington Demon girls allowed only a single field goal in the first half against the visiting Fort Madison Bloodhounds Tuesday, taking a 26-3 lead into half time. The Demons won handily, 48-16.

The two Laurens, junior Lauren Kimball and senior Lauren Vittetoe, led the Demons in scoring with 10 points apiece. Kimball was 3-7 from the floor including 2-4 from the three-point line. She also had three rebounds, two assists and a block. Vittetoe was 3-12 from the floor, 3-4 at the charity stripe and grabbed four rebounds. Senior Sydney Greiner finished with eight points on 2-12 shooting, six rebounds, three assists and one steal.

Junior Beth Dillon had four points, three rebounds, one assist and three steals. Grace Redlinger raked in four points, four rebounds and two steals. Senior Regan Enfield had three points and four rebounds. Junior Mariah Reighard had two points, one rebound and three steals. Sophomore Dema Giardino had two points and two rebounds. Junior Johannah Vittetoe finished with two points, five rebounds, three steals and one assist. Junior Sammy Ellingson had one point and one rebound.

Washington head coach Phil Long said his girls played well and that their focus was tremendous throughout the game. He said that his team?s shooting percentage could be improved upon. The Demons shot 15-54 (28 percent) overall and 4-24 (17 percent) from beyond the arc. However, the team shot well from the free-throw line, 14-18 (78 percent).

?We had close looks that we couldn?t finish,? Long said. ?Our shooting percentage was horrific but our defense was great. We only allowed one point in the first quarter. To have only given up three points at halftime was a shock. We only committed nine fouls, and that was a surprise as aggressive as we played.?

Long said his team worked on different defensive strategies in the second half.

?If we made a shot, we would come back in a different defense than if we missed a shot,? he said. ?Defense is the primary thing we emphasize. If you don?t do defense right, it?s because you don?t want to. Defense is all heart and desire.?

Long said he had to rotate some girls around because of injured players such as Addison Shive and Emily Zehr. He said Dillon did a nice job of filling in at the forward post position.

?We usually run four guards and one poster,? he said. ?We don?t have big tall players. All of our kids could play all five spots on the floor.?

The Demons have a week off before returning to practice. Van Buren High School of Keosauqua will scrimmage the Demons Dec. 30. Long said that he will spend Christmas break teaching his team new offensive and defensive sets.

?I have saved it until now because I didn?t want to confuse the girls by giving it to them all at once,? he said.

Washington goes into the break ranked No. 11 in Class 3A with a record of 7-1. The Bloodhounds enter the break at 1-7.

?It only gets tougher after Christmas,? Long said.

The Demons resume play Tuesday, Jan. 3, at Ottumwa and will then host Mt. Pleasant that Friday.

?Mt. Pleasant has a really good team,? Long said. ?They?ve only lost one and it was to Keokuk, and we?ve beaten Keokuk. I?ve been focusing on that Mt. Pleasant game ever since I got my schedule.?