Kennedy Girls Basketball

Botkin, Hembera honored by Register

Stephanie Botkin of Kennedy and Shelby Hembera of Cedar Valley Christian have been named to the all-state basketball teams by the Des Moines Register.

Botkin, a 6-foot forward, was named second team all-state in Class 5A. She will play college basketball at Washington University in St. Louis.

Hembera, a 6-foot-1 forward, was named third team all-state in Class 1A. She will play college basketball at the Emmaus Bible College.

Botkin, Sellers, Ollinger named all-district

Stephanie Botkin of Kennedy, Lela Sellers of Kennedy and Amanda Ollinger of Linn-Mar have been named to the Class 5A Eastern District all-star basketball team by the Iowa Girls Coaches Association (IGCA).

Botkin is a senior. Sellers and Ollinger are juniors.

Botkin was averaging 15.8 points and 6.6 rebounds heading into the regional finals Tuesday night. Sellers was averaging 14.5 points and 5.3 rebounds. Ollinger was averaging 14.0 points and 8.0 rebounds.

BJ Mayer of Iowa City West was named the Eastern District Coach of the Year.

CLASS 5A EASTERN DISTRICT TEAM

Mikaela Morgan, Iowa City West, Senior, Forward
Stephanie Botkin, Kennedy, Senior, Forward
Ashley Joens, Iowa City High, Freshman, Guard
Annabel Graettinger, Muscatine, Senior, Forward
Lela Sellers, Kennedy, Junior, Guard
Chrislyn Carr, Davenport West, Freshman, Guard
Danielle Craig, Iowa City West, Senior, Guard
Amanda Ollinger, Linn-Mar, Junior, Forward
Adrienne Boettger, Cedar Falls, Senior, Center
Emma Noel, Dubuque Senior, Senior, Forward
Courtney Joens, Iowa City High, Junior, Guard/Forward
Kira Arthofer, Pleasant Valley, Freshman, Guard
Lana Lindstrom, Pleasant Valley, Junior, Forward

Cougars fall to Tigers in final second

The Cedar Falls Tigers worked on a "junk" zone defense for two days in preparation for the Class 5A regional finals against Kennedy, but Cedar Falls Coach Gregg Groen did not want to use it until the time was right.

His timing was impeccable Tuesday night.

The Tigers handcuffed Kennedy stars Stephanie Botkin and Lela Sellers in the fourth quarter with their "junk" defense and upended the Cougars, 51-49, on a layup by Ally Conrad with nine-tenths of a second left in the game at Kennedy.

Cedar Falls (18-5) will make its first trip to the state tournament in seven years next week and face Waukee (21-2) in the opening round on Wednesday.

Kennedy retired with a 16-7 record after seeing a six-point lead evaporate in the fourth quarter.

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Kennedy girls move to regional finals

The Kennedy girls basketball team will enjoy all the comforts of home Tuesday night when it hosts Cedar Falls in the Class 5A regional finals.

The Cougars earned another home date in the tournament by whipping Dubuque Senior, 59-43, in the regional semifinals Saturday night at Kennedy.

Lela Sellers camped out at the foul line and scored 18 points for the Cougars (16-6). Sellers cashed 13 of 17 free throws to take scoring honors for both clubs.

Sydney Hayden tossed in three 3-pointers and contributed 11 points for Kennedy. Stephanie Botkin also scored 11 for the winners. Linden Runels hit three triples and added nine points.

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