Basketball Recap: Prairie Proves Higher State Rank Is No Mistake

After having lost a blowout in their previous game against Ames, Prairie was happy to have turned things around on Friday. They walked away with an 88-77 victory over the Liberty Lightning. Given the Hawks' advantage in MaxPreps' Iowa basketball rankings (they are ranked fourth, while the Lightning are ranked 241st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Liberty's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Brady Randall, who went 7 for 10 on his way to 17 points. Jerimiah Washpun was another key player, going 8 of 17 on his way to 21 points and six rebounds.

Prairie's win bumped their record up to 6-1. As for Liberty, they are on a three-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 2-8.

Prairie won't have much time to rest: their next match is against Clear Creek-Amana at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday. As for Liberty, they will venture away from home to take on Western Dubuque at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday.