Abby Herb wasn’t surprised when she swished her first 3-pointer of the season Thursday night. After all, she’s been doing everything else for Cedar Rapids Washington.

Herb scored 10 of her team’s first 24 points and had a game-high 14 markers, seven rebounds and two blocks to spearhead a 55-33 victory by the Warriors at Linn-Mar.

It was the final regular-season game for both teams. Washington heads into postseason play 13-7 overall and 11-5 in the Mississippi Valley Conference. Linn-Mar dipped to 10-11 overall and 6-10 in the league.

Washington gets a first-round bye in the tournament, then faces the Clinton/North Scott winner in a Region 5 semifinal Feb. 18 at the Warrior gym. Linn-Mar travels to play at Kennedy in Region 3 on Feb. 15.

The Lions missed their first 10 shots, had no players score in double figures and trailed 43-21 after three quarters. Both coaches cleared the benches midway through the fourth quarter. All 17 players for the 10th-ranked Warriors got playing time.

Linn-Mar was 3-for-21 shooting in the first half (14 percent) and finished the game at a frigid 22 percent. The Warriors hit just 1-of-12 3-point goals, but shot at a 43-percent clip.

Herb played one of her best all-around games and was laughing about the long shot she hit from the right side of the floor — her team’s only 3-pointer of the night.

“I just shot it without thinking,” Herb said. “I play with my dad in the driveway and I do it on him all the time.”

Abby’s father, Dennis, was an outstanding player and the starting center on the 1980 Warrior team that was 21-4, finishing third in the state tournament.

“We kind of trash talk each other and we have fun,” Herb said of playing against her 6-foot-6 father.

The 6-foot junior has developed into one of the best interior defenders and rebounders in the conference. She’s averaging 9.2 points per game (second best on the team) and almost seven rebounds, among the leaders in the MVC. She’s been one of her squad’s most consistent performers.

Coach Frank Howell likes what he’s seen all season long in the workmanlike Herb.

“She has been pretty consistent,” he said. “I think that her heart is always into it. She always brings passion to the floor and always plays hard. When you do those things, good things follow.”

Howell also called Herb’s defense outstanding.

“She is probably the best hedge defender in the United States for high school girls basketball,” he said. “She does a good job on both ends of the court. When a shot goes up she crashes, and on the defensive end when a shot goes up, she blocks out.”

Even though she plays mostly inside, Howell said Herb has the green light to step out and shoot the long ball. He was glad to see her finally get one to fall.

“We have seen her shoot those before,” he said. “I didn’t even hold my breath when she shot it. I had some confidence in her. It was good to see because that is another threat.”

Herb hasn’t really shot many 3-pointers this season. She was just 0-for-6 from behind the arc before Thursday, but she’s shooting a solid 44 percent from the floor and has grabbed more than 50 offensive rebounds. She also leads the Warriors in blocked shots.

“Rebounding well makes me feel good about myself,” Herb said. “My dad tells me that girls don’t box out, so just go after every ball. Most of this comes from him.”

Herb hit 6-of-12 shots from the floor. Jazz Royster was the only other Washington player to hit double figures with 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting. She also had five boards.

Howell said he was pleased to be able to play everyone.

“We’ve had so many knock-down, drag-out games this year,” he said. “We’ve had a slew of tough, competitive games, so that was good to give everyone a chance to play in the last regular-season game of the year.”

The Warriors cost themselves a shot at the conference championship with a 55-54 home loss against Cedar Falls on Tuesday, but Howell said he used it as a teaching point.

“We got outscored by Cedar Falls 21 to 9 in the third quarter on Tuesday night, so it was a good teachable moment for us tonight at halftime,” he said. “I thought we came out and played a really good third quarter and a really good game.”

WASHINGTON (55): Abby Herb 6 1-2 14, Lauren Goodlove 0 0-0 0, Brooke Foreman 1 0-0 2, Colby Bjornson 0 0-0 0, Devin Glenski 2 0-0 4, Madison Kramer 2 0-3 4, Jazz Royster 4 2-3 10, Tasha Roundtree 3 0-0 6, Callie Stone 0 0-0 0, Danielle Franklin 3 0-0 6, Aleena Hobbs  0 2-2 2, Kelli Klaus 2 2-2 6, Aalyiah Campbell 0 0-0 0, Annie Detweiler 0 0-0 0, Shanay Gonder 0 0-0 0, Renee Runge 1 0-0 2, Sophie Malcolm 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 10-12 55.

LINN-MAR (33): Leah Kremer 0 0-0 0, Hannah Yearling 1 1-1 3, Mykaela Brandt 1 1-3 3, Sara Strauel 1 0-0 2, Rachel Thrune 2 0-0 4, Jenna Harms 1 1-1 4, Kristin Eiles 2 1-1 6, Kelsey Duggan 0 0-0 0, Courtney Major 1 0-0 2, Lauren Koelker 0 0-0 0, Carly Ryder 1 0-0 3, Lannie Nietert 1 4-5 6, Alexis Libenguth 0 0-0 0. Totals 11 8-13 33.

Halftime - Washington 24, Linn-Mar 11. 3-point Goals - Washington 1 (Herb 1). Linn-Mar 3 (Harms 1, Eiles 1, Ryder 1).