Kenzie Reed leads Cedar Rapids Kennedy past Waukee Northwest in Class 4A quarterfinals

Cedar Rapids Kennedy beat Waukee Northwest, 61-55, to advance to Thursday’s boys basketball Class 4A state semifinal. The Cougars will play the winner of Ames-Burlington.

Kennedy, the No. 4 seed, jumped out to an early lead with a 3-pointer from Colby Dolphin, and that advantage rarely wavered against No. 5 Waukee Northwest. While the loss hurts for the Wolves, head coach Brett Watson can appreciate that his team reached the tournament in its inaugural year.

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“It stings right now but we wanted to go further this year, but we know we’ve got a good core coming back,” Watson said postgame. “Bottom line with that is … we have that chip on the shoulder to take this as motivation for the offseason and hopefully get back down here and win a few more games.”

Kennedy has made 16 tournament appearances, but this is the Cougars' first state win since finishing fourth in 2017.

“(It) feels really good,” said Kennedy’s Kenzie Reed, who scored a game-high 26 points on 8-for-12 shooting. “At the beginning of the season, we expected to be here, so it’s just nice that we actually got here and executed those goals.”

What helped Kennedy and hurt Waukee Northwest

The Cougars came with speed and pressure that never let up, and it worked to their advantage. Kennedy finished with 12 points off of turnovers and nine fastbreak points. Waukee Northwest finished with 13 points off turnovers, but most of those came in the final minutes.

Kennedy was also successful in holding off Pryce Sandfort, who scored a season-low 14 points, half of which came on free throws – but more on that below. Reed said part of the Cougars’ strategy was running down the clock but, in doing so, also tiring out Sandfort by making him run.

“We wanted that little stalling strategy,” Kenzie said. “We were running Sandfort back and forth across the baseline, trying to tire him out. And it worked out a little bit.”

That hurt Waukee Northwest, but more because the Wolves didn’t pressure the Cougars when they decided to run down the clock at the end of the first and second quarters. It’s one thing to not want to foul, but it’s another to give a team space to dribble and pass without being challenged – and that time would’ve been valuable to Waukee Northwest in the end.

Kennedy’s Kenzie Reed is an absolute force

The Cougars’ 5-foor-10 guard is a serious threat to opponents – both on offense and defense. He finished the game with 26 points, three rebounds and one steal. He went 8-for-12 from the field and 5-for-7 from beyond the arc, with four 3-pointers in the second half.

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“He’s just a really good player that made some really big shots,” Watson said. “You (have) to tip your cap to him. He played an outstanding game today, and that’s one of the reasons they’re advancing because he stepped up and made some big time shots.”

When he was tasked with guarding Sandfort in the first quarter, Reed held the Register’s No. 1 junior in-state recruit to just one point off a free throw. Sandfort scored one 3-pointer in the opening eight minutes, but Reed wasn’t defending him.

The offense is where Reed really shines, though. He finished the first half with seven total points, and then more than doubled that before the end of the third quarter. Reed hit three 3-pointers in the third quarter to widen the gap between Kennedy and Waukee Northwest.

Oh, and those 3-pointers, he had no problem sinking some from NBA range.

Imagine playing in the state tournament with the flu

Sandfort’s 14 points and six rebounds – with six turnovers – is uncharacteristic for the junior wing, whose previous low was 15 points against Mason City. Well, turns out Sandfort was playing with the flu, and had a tough week leading up to the state quarterfinal against Kennedy.

The Wolves needed other players to step up. Cade Kelderman and Henry Manning have matched Sandfort all season – and are a big part of his success – and they finished with a combined 22 points. But the Wolves player that stood out most was Grant Tigges, who led Waukee Northwest with 15 points and eight rebounds.

“We needed him,” Watson said. “He was huge today with Pryce not being 100%. We had to make sure that someone else stepped up and he did a fantastic job. The fun part about him is, he’s just a sophomore.”

Waukee Northwest’s time in this year’s tournament may have been cut short, but it's hard to not think about what a threat this team could be next season when all but three seniors return.

Alyssa Hertel is a college sports recruiting reporter for the Des Moines Register. Contact Alyssa at ahertel@dmreg.com or on Twitter @AlyssaHertel.