Washington wallops West Liberty

WEST LIBERTY — Washington had no trouble in a nonconference bout against West Liberty. The Demons cruised to a 51-31 victory to secure its seventh win, passing last season’s total of six.

Adalyn Long scored 12 points to lead Washington, which had a balanced scoring night offensively. All five starters finished with at least five points, and the Demons bench chipped in 13.

Washington got out to a 13-3 lead after one quarter and outscored West Liberty 29-11 in the first half. The Demons had 16 assists to nine turnovers and forced 20 giveaways by the Comets.

Despite losing the rebounding battle 31-28, Washington grabbed 13 offensive boards to aid its scoring. The Demons attempted 24 more field goals than the Comets, made nine 3-pointers and connected on 8 of 9 free throw attempts.

Vivienne Kroll followed up a strong outing in Washington’s loss to Burlington with nine points, two rebounds and three steals Monday. Leighton Messinger scored six points, grabbed 11 rebounds, dished out five assists and had two steals.

Oaklee Sobaski matched Messinger’s six points and had two boards, four assists, one steal and a block. Addison Miller had five points and two rebounds.

Reagan Miller was one of four Demons to make two 3-pointers and tallied eight points off the bench. Sarah Berdo added three points and five rebounds.

Washington (7-4, 3-2 Southeast Conference) has a pair of games on back-to-back nights upcoming. It will first face SEC foe Keokuk on Friday away from home. Keokuk beat Washington 49-41 on Dec. 5 to open SEC play.

The Demons will then return home for a matchup against Oskaloosa at 6 p.m. Saturday. The game will be streamed on the Southeast Iowa Live YouTube and Facebook pages.