For the second straight day top ranked team has been ousted at the girls state basketball tournament. Ninth ranked Cedar Rapids Jefferson got off to a fast start by outscoring top ranked Dowling Catholic 19-7 in the opening quarter then held on for a 57-55 win in the Class 4A quarterfinals.
Jefferson coach Larry Niemeyer says, “It’s a great win. Anytime you beat Dowling, this is like their home court. I think our kids played well, I think they shot well.”.
The J-Hawks built a 12-point lead in the second half before Dowling rallied in the final minutes. Niemeyer says he’s just happy that they won as they weren’t rated before the season started. Dowling yields only 37-points per game but they had trouble guarding a J-Hawk team that hit 47-percent from the field.
Coach John Wilkinson says Jefferson shot well, even thought he stats don’t show them to be a great three-point shooting team. It was an abrupt to the season for a Dowling team that was making an 11th straight trip to the state tournament. Wilkinson says it’s always a shock when you lose, especially at the state tournament and it ends your season.