Linn-Mar Girls Basketball

Linn-Mar girls climb to 6th in poll

The Linn-Mar girls basketball team jumped two spots to No. 6 in the final Class 5A poll of the regular season Tuesday.

The Lions (17-4) have won eight straight games and 11 of 12 heading into the postseason tournament Saturday night.

The Kennedy Cougars (17-4) fell four spots to No. 11 in Class 5A. The Cougars have a 3-3 record in their last six games, coming on the heels of a 14-game winning streak.

The Washington Warriors (14-7) remained No. 15 in Class 5A.

The Marion Indians (17-4) are ranked No. 7 in Class 4A again this week. The Indians have won 10 straight games heading into the postseason.

CLASS 4A

1. Western Dubuque (22-0), 2. Lewis Central (18-1), 3. Harlan (19-2), 4. Ballard (20-1), 5. Keokuk (19-2), 6. North Scott (17-4), 7. Marion (17-4), 8. Pella (19-2), 10. Waverly-Shell Rock (18-3), 11. Dallas Center-Grimes (16-5), 12. Fairfield (15-6), 13. Boone (17-4), 14. Grinnell (15-6), 15. DeWitt Central (14-6).

CLASS 5A

1. Johnston (18-3), 2. Iowa City High (18-3), 3. Ankeny Centennial (18-3), 4. Cedar Falls (19-2), 5. Indianola (20-1), 6. Linn-Mar (17-4), 7. Waukee (15-5), 8. Davenport North (19-3), 9. Southeast Polk (16-5), 10. Dowling (14-7), 11. Kennedy (17-4), 12. Pleasant Valley (16-5), 13. Iowa City West (14-7), 14. West Des Moines Valley (15-6), 15. Washington (14-7).

No. 8 Lions top Hawks for 8th in row

Jaime Printy Brandt and her husband Danny are expecting their first child in July, but she's having too much fun as the Linn-Mar girls basketball coach to step aside next season.

Brandt plans to return for her third year as head coach next season despite becoming a new mother.

"I do. Yup. No worries," she said Friday night with a smile. "I'm going to stick around. That's the plan.

"My husband will bring our baby to the games, I guess. It will be a gym rat, just like me."

Brandt and the eighth-ranked Lions defeated Cedar Rapids Prairie, 50-35, in a Mississippi Valley Conference game to finish the regular season with an eight-game winning streak Friday.

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No. 8 Lions escape Saints in OT

The eighth-ranked Linn-Mar girls basketball survived a scare from unranked Xavier, winning 67-61 in overtime in a Mississippi Valley Conference game Tuesday at Xavier.

Claire Larson hit a 3-point goal to break a 60-60 tie with just less than a minute to play in the overtime period to ignite the Lions.

The Saints trailed 47-39 entering the fourth quarter, but tied the score at 58-58 to send the game into overtime.

Kamryn Finley finished with 17 points for Linn-Mar (16-4). Amanda Ollinger had 16 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and three blocks. Lexi Freese scored 11 points with 10 rebounds. Alie Akers added 10 points.

Lexi Noonan scored 23 points for the Saints (8-12). Kiana Stanek had 11 points. McKenna Andersen had 10 points and four assists. Kylie Brown grabbed 10 rebounds.

LINN-MAR (67): Johnson 0 1-2 1, Akers 4 0-0 10, Frese 4 3-4 11, Lancial 0 0-0 0, Murphy 2 0-0 6, Spies 0 0-0 0, Finley 7 3-4 17, Larson 2 1-2 6, Ollinger 6 2-4 16. Totals 25 9-15 67.

XAVIER (61): Bastian 2 0-0 5, Stanek 4 0-0 11, Andersen 2 6-6 10, Noonan 9 5-7 23, Dickes 0 2-2 2, Brown 3 2-3 8, Ivester 0 0-0 0, Joens 1 0-0 2. Totals 21 15-18 61.

Halftime – Linn-Mar 29, Xavier 24. Regulation – Linn-Mar 58, Xavier 58. 3-point goals – Linn-Mar 8 (Akers 2, Murphy 2, Ollinger 2, Finley, Larson), Xavier 4 (Stanek 3, Bastian).

Ollinger lifts Lions by Bettendorf

BETTENDORF - Amanda Ollinger collected 18 points, 10 rebounds and four steals Saturday as the eighth-ranked Linn-Mar Lions topped Bettendorf, 34-24, in a low-scoring affair in Bettendorf.

Only four players scored for Linn-Mar (15-4) with Kamryn Finley getting seven points, Megan Murphy six points and Ally Johnson three points.

Linn-Mar led at halftime, 15-12.

Emily Ivory scored nine points for Bettendorf (7-12).

LINN-MAR (34): Johnson 1 0-0 3, Noggle 0 0-0 0, Akers 0 0-0 0, Frese 0 0-0 0, Lancial 0 0-0 0, Murphy 2 0-0 6, Spies 0 0-0 0, Finley 3 1-4 7, Larson 0 0-0 0, Ollinger 7 4-6 18. Totals 13 5-10 34.

BETTENDORF (24): Comer 0 0-0 0, Ivory 3 0-0 9, Jacks 1 0-0 3, Gau 1 0-0 2, Erpelding 0 0-0 0, Regenwether 2 1-2 5, Hatch 0 0-2 0, Sortillo 0 0-0 0, Kennedy 1 0-0 2, Banks 0 0-0 0, Johnson 1 0-0 3. Totals 9 1-4 24.

Halftime - Linn-Mar 15, Bettendorf 12. 3-point goals - Linn-Mar 3 (Murphy 2, Johnson 1), Bettendorf 5 (Ivory 3, Jacks 1, Johnson 1).