Linn-Mar Girls Basketball

Stokes tallies 33, Lions clinch MVC title tie

Linn-Mar pounded Dubuque Senior, 62-29, Tuesday night to earn its 14th conference win, securing at least a tie for first place in the MVC Mississippi Division with one game remaining in the league schedule.

Waterloo West and Cedar Rapids Washington both trailed the second-ranked Lions by one game to start the evening. Linn-Mar (19-1 overall) will win the title outright with a victory over visiting Washington on Thursday.

In another dominating performance, Linn-Mar super senior Kiah Stokes led all scorers with 33 points, grabbed 16 rebounds and blocked four shots. She needs 22 more blocks to match the state career blocks record of 497 set by Jessica Nikkel of Lynnville-Sully (1995-99).

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No. 2 Lions keep Xavier in a skid

No one could have blamed No. 14 Xavier for wishing for a little breather in its schedule after the Saints lost three consecutive heartbreakers to ranked teams in the last two weeks, dropping games to No. 3 Iowa City West, No. 4 Waterloo West and No. 11 Dowling Catholic by a combined eight points.

Instead, the road only got steeper on Friday night as the Saints played No. 2 Linn-Mar on its home court, losing 50-31 to the Metro’s top team.

A stiff defensive effort kept the Saints in the game early, as they held 6-foot-3 Linn-Mar standout Kiah Stokes to four baskets in the first half and got 12 points from their bench to stay within five points, 23-18.

But the Lions (18-1, 13-1) had too many weapons, nailing five 3-pointers in the game to go with Stokes’ pestering presence under the basket on both ends of the court. 

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Stokes leads the state in scoring

Linn-Mar senior Kiah Stokes leads the state in scoring, but Virginia Johnson of Iowa City High is nipping at her heels.

Stokes, a 6-foot-3 center who has signed with UConn, is averaging 24.9 points for the second-ranked Lions. Johnson, who has signed with Iowa, is averaging 23.4 points.

Stokes also ranks third in the state in rebounding (14.7) and fourth in blocked shots (4.8), according to the IGHSAU.

As you might expect, Stokes is blowing away the competition in the Metro area in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots by wide margins. She also leads the Metro in field goal shooting at 72.0 percent.

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Kiah Stokes outscores Prairie, Lions roll

Linn-Mar’s Kiah Stokes, the state’s leading scorer, single-handedly outscored the entire Prairie team Friday night with a 30-point performance as the No. 2 Lions trounced the Hawks, 54-28.

In a face-off between the Metro’s top and bottom teams, Prairie (4-12, 3-10) remained within striking distance at the half, trailing Linn-Mar 25-20. But the Hawks were hamstrung in the second half and Lions charged ahead, outscoring them 29-8.

Prairie senior Mackenzie Blaha hit three treys to lead the Hawks with nine points. Talented  freshman Madison Dellamuth, who leads the team in scoring, assists and field goal percentage, managed only a single bucket.

Mykaela Brandt and Kailee Karr each scored six points for the Lions (17-1, 12-1).

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