Despite a quick start, two first half cold-shooting spells sunk the Kennedy girls Saturday against the visiting 10th-ranked Waukee Warriors.

But both coaches agreed it was rebounding that really killed the Cougars in their 63-47 non-conference loss to one of the perpetual powerhouses of the strong Central Iowa Metropolitan League.

Waukee dominated on the boards 39-26, but 17 of them came on the offensive end and led to put-back baskets.

Until he saw the statistics, Kennedy Coach Denny Roloff said he thought the rebounding margin was even worse than it was. “We just did not rebound very well,” he said.

At one point in the third quarter, he told his starters he would sit them the next time Waukee scored after an offensive rebound.

It wasn’t long before all  five of them were benched at the same time and stayed there for the last five  minutes of the quarter.

By that time, though, the Warriors had built up an 18-point lead.

“We knew coming in here it was going to be a physical game,” said Waukee Coach Chris Guess. “It was our best rebounding game of the season.”

The Cougars jumped out to an 8-4 lead but then went on a scoring drought over the last four minutes of the quarter while Waukee went on a 13-0 run.

“Our shots kept rimming out," Roloff said. “And we gave them too many lay-ups to keep the game close."

Kennedy suffered through another dry spell at the end of the second quarter as the Des Moines-area visitors jumped out to 17-point lead. Cougar guard Kali Hildebrand  stopped the bleeding with a long 3-point buzzer beater at halftime.

For the night, the five Kennedy starters could manage a total of only 25 points.

Dazzling junior guard Courtney Strait, who had been averaging 15.7 points a game, was held to eight with just two field goals.

“Teams are keying on her,” Roloff pointed out. “And until some of the others pick it up, she’s going to have a hard getting her shots."

The only Cougar in double figures was 5-foot-3 junior sparkplug Kaylese Johnson, who came off the  bench to score 10 in the second half on a lay-up, two threes and a long jumper.

Kennedy (3-7, 3-5 in MVC) has now lost four games in a row. Waukee (8-3), meanwhile, has won five straight, including three in the past five days.

The Warriors had four players in double figures Saturday night, led by sophomore guard Megan Shryack with 17. Senior guard Laura Brewer had 12 points and 13 rebounds, while sophomore reserve forward Britney Boland and
junior forward Amy Nestingen each added 14 points.

The  Kennedy sophomore girls won the opener 56-39.

WAUKEE (63): Megan Goodson 2 0-0 4, Megan Shryack 7 3-4 17, Laura Brewer 4 2-2 12, Katy Wearmouth 1 0-1 2, Amy Nestingen 6 2-2 14, Ellie Buntz 1 0-0 2, Megan Ripperger 0 0-0 0, Britney Boland 6 2-2 14. Totals 25 10-14 63.
 
KENNEDY (47): Olivia Meier 3 0-0 6, Courtney Strait 2 4-4 8, Kassi Nunnikhoven 1 0-0 2, Shauna Happel 2 0-1 4, Kali Hildebrand 2 0-0 5, Kaylese Johnson 4 0-0 10, Dominique Wright 1 0-0 2, Mariah Simmons 0 0-0 0, Kristen Huebsch 0 0-0 0, Kim Muench 1 0-0 2, Ashley Schlueter 1 2-2 5, Katherine Schulz 1 0-0 3. Totals 18 6-7 47.
 
Halftime – Waukee 35, Kennedy 23. Total fouls – Waukee 10, Kennedy 16. 3-point goals – Waukee 3 (Brewer 2, Boland), Kennedy 5 (Johnson 2, Schlueter, Hildebrand, Schulz).