Metro Sports Report

J-Hawks clinch Valley Division bowling title

DUBUQUE -- The Jefferson girls bowlers clinched the Mississippi Valley Conference Valley Division title Friday when they beat Dubuque Hempstead, 2844-2698.

The win improved Jefferson's record to 10-2 overall and 8-0 in the MVC. The J-Hawks hold a four-match lead over second-place Hempstead (4-4) with three matches left.

Nicole Werling rolled a 246 high game and 407 series and Allie Trcka had games of 202 and 201 for a 403 series for Jefferson.

"It showed a total team effort when some of the higher average players were down a little bit," Jefferson Coach Virg Cerveny said. "I was proud of them."

There's more to the game than basketball

There's more to high school basketball in the Metro than practicing and playing games. Cedar Rapids Kennedy and Jefferson have now led the way to join the Coaches vs. Cancer crusade with fundraising attached to basketball.

In fact, the program started Jan. 14 with the Kennedy-Jefferson boys game as the schools competed to see who could raise the most money for the Linn County Cancer Society and its Relay for Life program, chaired by volunteer Dave Martin.

Through raffles, the selling of T-shirts and the general solicitation, the J-Hawks and Cougars raised $4,200. This week is Jefferson and Washington's turn. One of their projects has been a dance marathon, and they will donate the proceeds from their activities and autographed basketballs by the high school players to the cancer society (see above story).

Stokes outscores Prairie

Linn-Mar’s Kiah Stokes, the state’s leading scorer, single-handedly outscored the entire Prairie team Friday night with a 30-point performance as the No. 2 Lions trounced the Hawks, 54-28.

In a face-off between the Metro’s top and bottom teams, Prairie (4-12, 3-10) remained within striking distance at the half, trailing Linn-Mar 25-20. But the Hawks were hamstrung in the second half and Lions charged ahead, outscoring them 29-8.

Prairie senior Mackenzie Blaha hit three treys to lead the Hawks with nine points. Talented  freshman Madison Dellamuth, who leads the team in scoring, assists and field goal percentage, managed only a single bucket.

Mykaela Brandt and Kailee Karr each scored six points for the Lions (17-1, 12-1).

Prairie hosts Class 3A No. 2 Mount Vernon on Saturday at 6:30. Linn-Mar takes on Xavier at home next Friday.

Oney, Armstrong help UNI reach new heights

Katelin Oney and K.K. Armstrong enjoyed remarkable basketball careers at Cedar Rapids Washington High School, and now the two best friends are helping the University of Northern Iowa women's basketball team scale new heights.

Oney and Armstrong helped Washington compile an 88-14 record during their four years with the varsity. They made the Class 4A state tournament each season and finished second, second, third and second in Des Moines.

Success has followed them to Cedar Falls. The Panthers won the Missouri Valley Conference tournament and reached the NCAA tourney for the first time in school history last season, and this year they are sitting in first place in the MVC standings near the midpoint of the regular-season campaign.

Oney and Armstrong, a pair of 5-foot-7 guards, graduated from Washington in 2008. Armstrong committed to Northern Iowa during the early part of the summer of 2007, but Oney waited a little longer before picking Northern Iowa as well.

"They were actually our first signees of the new staff," said UNI Coach Tanya Warren, in her fourth year at UNI. "We wanted to build our program starting with those two."

The Panthers are 14-5 overall and 7-1 in the Missouri Valley Conference heading into Saturday afternoon's home date with Bradley.

Oney, a starting guard, is tied for the conference lead in 3-pointers and ranks 10th in scoring at 10.5 points. Armstrong, a key reserve, ranks 10th in the MVC in free throwing shooting and is averaging 7.3 points, fourth-best on the team.