MUSCATINE — The Queen of Iowa high school basketball has a new court this year.

Kiah Stokes is back after leading Linn-Mar to the Class 4A state title last season, but all the other starters have graduated to new endeavors.

So far, so good.

Stokes poured in 30 points and snared 11 rebounds Saturday night (Nov. 27) as the fourth-ranked Lions spanked Muscatine, 63-29, in their season opener at the Muscatine Fieldhouse.

 “It was kind of different,” Stokes said. “When they announced the lineups I was thinking, ‘Oh, where’s Kayla, D.J., Terp and Kiley?’”

Kayla Klopfenstein, D.J. Norman, Morgan Terpstra and Kiley Haines joined Stokes in the lineup last year when the Lions went 26-0 and beat Des Moines East for the title. That quartet was replaced Saturday by Jenna Eells, Kailee Karr, Mykaela Brandt and Sara Strauel, although Strauel will yield her spot when Shanice Cheatham recovers from a heel infection.

“It’s kind of different,” Stokes acknowledged, “but I’m really excited for them (the new starters), because they all have a lot of potential and I think they’ll do great things this season.”

Stokes scored 10 points in the first quarter as the Lions bolted to a 13-4 lead. Linn-Mar led, 25-11, at halftime and quickly built its advantage in the second half.

Stokes, a 6-foot-3 center who has signed with the University of Connecticut, played for 24 1/2 minutes and personally outscored the Muskies, 30-29. Stokes is right-handed, but she displayed a deft touch with her left hand with baby hooks and layups. She also blocked three shots.

“I thought they did a nice job of working the ball inside to Kiah to take advantage of her height,” Coach Mike Brandt said.

Seven other players scored for the Lions, but nobody reached double figures. Rachel Thrune tallied eight points, Courtney Major seven and Brandt six.

Brandt, the coach’s daughter, is a 5-foot-6 sophomore who led the team in floor burns.

“She’s a scrappy one,” her father said. “I was very happy with her play for her first varsity game. I know she was nervous, but she did what we asked her to do. She gets after it on the floor. We need somebody like that all the time.”

Linn-Mar grabbed a 37-point advantage, 53-16, midway through the fourth quarter. Muscatine (2-1) outscored the Lions, 13-10, after that with Stokes on the bench.

Things will get much tougher for Linn-Mar Tuesday night when it hosts fourth-ranked Iowa City High, matching Stokes against University of Iowa signee Virginia Johnson in a battle of premier post players and top-5 teams.

“I’m excited for it,” Stokes said. “We’re both pretty good teams. I know it’s going to be a dogfight. It’s what you play for — close games. It’s going to be exciting to see who wins.”

Johnson and the Little Hawks scouted Saturday night’s game at Muscatine.

“It’s going to be a fun game, it’s going to be a great atmosphere,” Coach Brandt said. “It will be a great test. It will show us what we have to work on. The same with them.

“It should be a lot of fun to see Virginia and Kiah. They’re good friends. It will be fun to see them battle each other.”

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

LINN-MAR (63): Leandra Martins 2 0-0 4, Mykaela Brandt 2 2-3 6, Sara Strauel 0 1-2 1, Rachel Thrune 4 0-1 8, MacKenzie Seckman 0 0-0 0, Kailee Karr 1 0-0 3, Jenna Eells 1 2-3 4, Megan Sherwood 0 0-0 0, Courtney Major 3 0-0 7, Kiah Stokes 12 6-7 30, Kelsey Koelker 0 0-0 0. Totals 25 11-16 63.

MUSCATINE (29): Emily Clemens 2 3-4 7, Megan Thiesse 1 0-0 2, Alex Walgren 1 0-3 2, Shelby Lohman 1 0-0 2, Leticia Lerma 4 0-1 9, Morgan Johnson 0 2-4 2, Andrea Chatfield 0 3-6 3, Katelyn Dew 1 0-0 2. Totals 10 8-18 29.

Halftime — Linn-Mar 25, Muscatine 11. 3-point goals — Linn-Mar 2 (Karr 1, Major 1), Muscatine 1 (Lerma 1).