Kennedy Girls Basketball

No. 7 Kennedy girls escape J-Hawks

The Kennedy girls basketball team has a bona fide star in Lela Sellers, but the Cougars showed Tuesday night they can win a tough game on the road with Sellers having a relatively quiet game.

The seventh-ranked Cougars rallied from an eight-point deficit in the second half and escaped the Jefferson J-Hawks, 56-43, in a Mississippi Valley Conference game at the Jefferson gym.

Sellers scored only three points in the second half -- all on free throws -- but Kennedy dug a little deeper into its portfolio to head home with a glossy 17-3 record.

Carly Langhurst, Ashley Hamilton, Hailey Dolphin and Linden Runels all made clutch baskets during a 15-0 run as the Cougars wiped out a 38-30 deficit and surged into a 45-38 lead to turn the game around.

Langhurst and Hamilton began the 15-0 run with a pair of 3-pointers.

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No. 7 Cougars top No. 15 Warriors

Their No. 1 ranking is only a fond memory now, but the Cedar Rapids Kennedy girls basketball team is still enjoying one of the best seasons in school history despite losing a pair of games recently.

The Cougars added another victory to their impressive resume Friday night when they knocked off 15th-ranked Washington, 64-58, in a foul-plagued Mississippi Valley Conference game at Kennedy.

The Cougars have dropped from No. 1 to No. 7 in the Class 5A rankings following losses to Cedar Falls and Iowa City West, two MVC opponents that are ranked by the IGHSAU as well, but they are still a dangerous club at 16-3 overall and 9-2 in the league.

"It's been a solid year for us," Kennedy coach Tony Vis said. "We have to try and peak here the last couple of weeks going into the tournament."

Lela Sellers led a balanced attack for the Cougars with 20 points and more good work off the defensive backboards. Sydney Hayden scored 13 points, Hailey Dolphin had 12 points and Ashley Hamilton came off the bench to pop in 11.

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Cougars 7th, Lions 8th in girls rankings

The Kennedy girls basketball team fell from No. 6 to No. 7 in the latest Class 5A rankings, released Thursday by the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union.

Linn-Mar claimed the No. 8 spot in Class 5A, moving up from No. 10 last week. Washington stayed 15th.

Marion maintained its No. 7 ranking in Class 4A from a week ago.

CLASS 5A

1. Ankeny Centennial, 2. Johnston, 3. Iowa City High, 4. Cedar Falls, 5. Waukee, 6. Indianola, 7. Kennedy, 8. Linn-Mar, 9. Davenport North, 10. Southeast Polk, 11. West Des Moines Valley, 12. Iowa City West, 13. Dowling Catholic, 14. Pleasant Valley, 15. Cedar Rapids Washington.

CLASS 4A

1. Harlan, 2. Western Dubuque, 3. Council Bluffs Lewis Central, 4. Keokuk, 5. Ballard, 6. North Scott, 7. Marion, 8. Pella, 9. Fairfield, 10. Mason City, 11. Waverly-Shell Rock, 12. Grinnell, 13. Dallas Center-Grimes, 14. Boone, 15. Central DeWitt.

No. 6 Kennedy girls fall in OT

The sixth-ranked Kennedy girls basketball team suffered a painful overtime loss, falling to No. 14 Iowa City West 56-55 Friday at Kennedy.

The Cougars led 41-32 at halftime and 46-39 at the end of the third quarter, but the Women of Troy fought back to tie the score at 52-52 at the end of regulation and went on to win at the finish.

Lela Sellers scored 21 points for Kennedy (15-3, 8-2). Linden Runels added 10 points.

Lauren Zacharias scored 20 points for Iowa City West (11-6, 7-3).

IOWA CITY WEST (56): Morgan 2 0-0 6, Zacharias 8 0-0 20, Fay 0 1-2 1, Saunders 3 3-5 10, McGrane 0 0-0 0, Huinker 1 3-4 6, Cook 3 1-4 4, Harder 0 0-2 0, Koch 3 0-1 6, Beckner 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 8-17 56.

KENNEDY (55): Langhurst 3 0-1 8, Hamilton 1 0-0 3, Hayden 2 0-1 5, Sellers 7 7-10 21, Steele 0 0-0 0, Hellweg 0 0-0 0, Dolphin 2 1-3 5, Runels 4 0-0 10, Meier 1 0-0 3. Totals 20 8-15 55.

Halftime – Kennedy 41, Iowa City West 32. 3-point goals – Iowa City West 8 (Zacharias 4, Morgan 2, Saunders, Huinker), Kennedy 7 (Langhurst 2, Runels 2, Hamilton, Hayden, Meier).