As soon as the Kennedy girls figured out early Friday night that they could handle Washington’s pressing defense, well, there was no stopping them.

The Cougars finished off the first quarter on a 10-0 run and just kept pouring it on in a 67-35 rout on the Warriors’ home court.

“We were really pumped tonight,’’ said heady Kennedy forward Linden Runels. “Wash is a good team, but we wanted to get them back for the last game at our place.”

Washington won that one 53-46 back in mid-December when the Cougars suffered one of their rare poor shooting performances. This time around they were running on all cylinders.

“We were really good on the boards,” Runels noted.

Indeed, Kennedy out-rebounded Washington 47-16, including a whopping 18-3 advantage on the offensive glass.

“And we did a great job running the ball out in transition,” the junior defensive specialist added. “We hit the open shooters, and the shooters hit their shots.”

The Cougars shot 43 percent for the game, with five of 13 coming from 3-point range. The Warriors, meanwhile, hit just 28 percent and made only one of 14 from behind the arc.

Kennedy’s dynamic inside duo of six-footers Stephanie Botkin and Lela Sellers were dominant on both ends of the floor. The senior Botkin had 15 points and 10 rebounds, while junior Sellers contributed 14 points and a dozen boards.

“We practiced and talked a lot about getting to the boards,” said the jumping-jack Sellers. “That really helped us get second shots.”

Botkin said the whole team was playing with an extra shot of confidence after knocking off highly rated Iowa City West, 60-54, last week.

“That was huge,” she said. “It showed us we could play with the big boys.” Now winners of seven out of their last nine games, Kennedy (14-5) is currently ranked eighth in Class 5A. But they’re on a roll, according to junior sharpshooter Sydney Hayden. She led her team on Friday with 16 points, including 3-of-5 from long range.

“Everybody on the team is contributing,” she said. “And we’re really playing with a lot of confidence.”

Cougar Coach Tony Vis said overall balance is a key to his team’s success. And he admitted that payback for the previous loss to Washington was on their mind.

“I thought we came out ready to play tonight,” Vis said. “We got out of the gate fast and it just sort of snowballed from there.

“Our defense was really solid. And that generated a lot of points in transition.”

For Washington (11-8), which had won seven of its previous eight games, it was a night to forget.

“It was just their night,” said a resigned Coach Frank Howell of the visiting Cougars. “They came out with great energy and just played a lot harder that we did. They got a lot of loose balls, and we couldn’t keep them off the offensive boards.

“And their shooters really lit it up.”

Warrior senior Kandis O’Donnnell led her team with nine points and six rebounds.

KENNEDY (67): Sydney Hayden 4-5-6 16, Lela Sellers 6 2-4 14, Abigail Hellweg 2 0-0 4, Linden Runels 1 0-0 3, Stephanie Botkin 6 3-3 15, Alyssa Dunham 0 1-2 1, Katelyn Dye 2 1-2 5, Asley Hamilton 0 0-0 0, Alana Steele 0 0-0 0, Paige Timmerman 0 0-0 0, Lauren Meyer 0 0-0 0, Kendal Meier 0 0-0 0, Sydney Green 0 0-0 0, Brinley Milbrath 1 1-3 3, Hailey Dolphin 2 1-2 6, Carly Langhurst 0 0-0 0, Olivia Hellweg 0 0-0 0, Madison Haefner 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 14-23 67.

WASHINGTON (35): Joniqua Clark 3 0-0 6, Allie Semrau 0 0-3 0, Anne Visser 2 2-2 7, Courney Squires 3 0-0 6, Kandis O’Donnell 4 1-1 9, Danis Corey 0 0-0 0, Brittany Hoeger 0 0-0 0, Lily Hartman 0 0-0 0, Alana Arrington 0 0-0 0, Payton Bruner 0 3-4 3, Jessi Puk 1 0-0 2, Emily Oler 0 2-2 2, Jayla Johnson 0 0-0 0, Brittany Cullen 0 0-0 0, Melanie Hoeger 0 0-0 0, PerisaLevy 0 0-0 0. Totals 13 8-12 35.

Halftime – Kennedy 34, Washington 18. 3-point goals— Kennedy 5 (Hayden 3, Runels 1, Dolphin 1), Washington 1 (Visser 1).