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Washington falls to Marion
Demons drop nonconference clash
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An explosive first half by Marion proved too much for the Washington girls basketball team to recover from Monday night. The Demons dropped a nonconference clash 60-39 to the Wolves, snapping a four game win streak.
Like its second loss of the season, a 49-30 defeat to 3A No. 10 Mediapolis, it was a red hot shooting night from beyond the arc by an opponent that doomed the Demons. Marion, led sophomore Kendyl Aarhus, rained 3s and outscored Washington 16-5 in the second quarter to build an insurmountable lead.
Aarhus entered Monday’s matchup having made 13 of 45 shots from beyond the arc this season. She finished the game with 24 points on six made 3s, a few of which were launched from several feet beyond the 3-point line.
“When she’s going to have a night like that there’s not as much you can do,” Washington coach Colin Mulford said. “We started guarding her tight. She made a couple of deep ones right in our face. You can’t really do much.”
Marion paired Aarhus’ hot shooting with physical play on the glass. The Wolves hounded any missed 3s, grabbed long offensive rebounds and prevented second chances against a Washington side that ranks second in the Southeast Conference in O-Boards.
“We’ve seen girls like some of them, but not that many that are going to be that physical and strong,” Mulford said. “So, you could see that some of our girls were struggling to really match that.”
Mulford did praise his team for refusing to roll over after watching a barrage of 3s go in, and for sustained effort on both ends against against a physical, high caliber foe. Washington guard Adalyn Long earned trips to the free throw line on back-to-back possessions just before halftime. The Demons first possession of the second half ended with a 3 by Addison Miller.
Washington was only outscored by three points the rest of the way after trailing 38-20 at the break. The Demons found some offensive synergy with better ball movement and patient offense in the third and fourth quarters.
Long connected on three 3s to score nine of a team-high 14 points in the second half. Washington countered a 6-0 run by Marion to start the game with five straight points by Leighton Messinger and a 3 by Reagan Miller, who is shooting 45.4% from deep over Washington’s last two games. The Demons ended the quarter scoring on back-to-back possessions to trim the deficit to six after Aarhus strong start from deep.
“I felt like after those first few minutes we settled in more and weren’t having as many turnovers,” Mulford said... “For a team that guards as well as they do, I felt like our offense looked pretty good with just moving the ball, not standing for the most part. At the beginning of the game we were hitting shots, and then even when we weren’t hitting shots I felt like we were getting open looks.”
Marion maintained its defensive intensity in the second quarter and found additional scoring avenues on offense, including forward Harlow Griffin who finished with 16 points. Still, Washington remained undeterred after the Wolves gained a comfortable lead, and responded by nearly matching Marion on offense in the second half.
Long added three assists, one rebound and a steal to her outing. Messinger finished with seven points, four boards and five assists. Miller and Berdo combined for nine points and four rebounds off the bench.
Any loss certainly stings, but Monday’s defeat can offer key points to build on as the Demons prepare for their next matchup. Marion’s four defeats this season have all come against current or previously ranked sides in Classes 3A and 4A.
“They’ve played high quality competition,” Mulford said. “You can tell that with just how they guard defensively and how they play together offensively. So this is definitely a game that’s going to help us, especially in the film room.”
Washington ripped off four straight wins after losing to Mediapolis. The Demons will hope to ignite a similar steak after a loss starting against Burlington on Friday.
Tipoff for the SEC clash is set for 6 p.m. inside the Washington High School gym. The game will be steamed on the Southeast Iowa Live YouTube and Facebook pages.
