The Linn-Mar girls’ basketball team kicked off the Class 5A State Basketball Tournament in a big way, cruising to a 60-38 win over a talented Indianola team and were poised to make even more noise in the semifinal round. However, the Lions ran into a roadblock in the second round, losing to the Johnston Dragons by a final tally of 51-39 to end their season.
Leading 13-10 after the first quarter of play in the opening round, Linn-Mar turned up the heat on both ends of the floor in the second period and outscored Indianola 23-6 to take a 36-16 lead into halftime. The Lions wouldn’t look back as they rolled to a 60-38 victory.
Senior Amanda Ollinger posted yet another double-double, scoring 25 points and grabbing 12 rebounds to lead the Lions in both of those categories. The future Iowa Hawkeye also led Linn-Mar in steals and blocks with four apiece in those two stat columns as well. Sophomore Kamryn Finley scored 14 points, Ally Johnson chipped in eight points off the bench and Alie Akers sent home two three-pointers to finish with six points. Claire Larson and Megan Murphy scored four and three points respectively off the bench to cap off the scoring for the Lions.
Ollinger finished with another double-double in the 51-39 loss to Johnston. She finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds in the losing effort, while Finley was the next highest scorer with nine points of her own.
The Dragons snapped Linn-Mar’s 11-game winning streak and ended their season at 20-5 overall. Johnston was edged in the Class 5A Championship game by their CIML rival Ankeny Centennial by a score of 46-42.
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