Linn-Mar Girls Basketball

No. 4 Cougars, No. 9 Lions on collision course

If you like girls basketball, you might want to circle Tuesday, Jan. 5 on your calendar as a "must see" game for the New Year.

The Kennedy Cougars will host the Linn-Mar Lions that night at 7:30 in a showdown for early bragging rights in the Metro area. Kennedy is ranked No. 4 in Class 5A with a 9-1 record, while Linn-Mar is ranked No. 9 in Class 5A with a 6-1 mark.

The Cougars feature a strong 1-2 punch with Lela Sellers and sharpshooter Sydney Hayden, while the Lions counter with a strong 1-2 punch of their own with Amanda Ollinger and Kamryn Finley.

All four of those athletes will play Division I sports in college. Sellers has signed with Liberty University for basketball, Hayden is headed to the University of Northern Iowa for soccer, Ollinger has signed with Iowa for basketball and Finley, just a sophomore, already has basketball offers from Northern Iowa and Drake.

Ollinger leads the Metro in scoring and ranks third in rebounding, while Sellers leads the Metro in rebounding and ranks second in scoring.

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Versatile Ollinger helps Linn-Mar win

Sometimes Amanda Ollinger is a guard, sometimes she's a forward and sometimes she's a center.

The versatile 6-foot-1 senior did most of her damage in the low post Friday night and helped Linn-Mar top Cedar Rapids Prairie, 53-44, with 20 points and 12 rebounds.

Linn-Mar coach Jaime Brandt saw Ollinger had a size advantage near the basket against the Hawks, so she stationed her top player in the low post where she could score or feed teammates for shots.

"That was an adjustment we made on the spot," Ollinger said. "We really didn't know what they were going to throw at us."

"I'm comfortable anywhere on the floor," she said. "Working on finishing at the hoop is a really big thing for me that I'm trying to improve on this season."

Ollinger did a good job with her back to the basket. She's spent of the season on the perimeter, but the situation called for a low-post center and she delivered.

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Ollinger nets 1,000, but Lions fall

She wasn’t feeling well to begin with, but then what started out as a milestone night for Linn-Mar senior Amanda Ollinger ended up with her on the bench with five fouls and a bloody nose to boot.

What’s worse, her previously undefeated sixth-ranked team gradually squandered an 11-point first half lead and fell at home Tuesday night to ninth-ranked Iowa City High, 60-49.

It’s easy to see where the game was won for the methodical Little Hawks. It was from the free throw line, where they were 25 for 29.

And in the fourth quarter, which started tied at 38-all, they converted all 13 of their attempts to go with just four field goals. The Lions, on the other hand, shot just four free throws all evening.

“I thought we settled for a lot of threes,” said Linn-Mar coach Jaime Brandt, whose girls were nine of 25 from long-distance for the night. “They were in a zone, and most of our shots were coming from the outside.

“They were a lot more aggressive and got it to the rim. And in the second half, especially, I think we were a little too timid.”

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Linn-Mar, Marion girls in Rivalry Saturday

The Linn-Mar and Marion high school girls basketball teams are taking their backyard rivalry to the big stage.

The Lions and Indians will meet in the 13th Annual Mercy Sports Care Rivalry Saturday on Jan. 9 at the U.S. Cellular Center in downtown Cedar Rapids.

Linn-Mar and Marion will play the eighth and final game in the girls basketball event at 8:20 p.m. Both teams are ranked by the IGHSAU, with Linn-Mar at No. 6 in Class 5A and Marion at No. 6 in Class 4A.

SCHEDULE

9:15 a.m. - Iowa City Regina vs Benton Community
10:50 a.m. - Ballard vs Fairfield
12:25 p.m. - Springville vs Turkey Valley
2 p.m. - Maquoketa Valley vs Alburnett
3:35 p.m. - Mason City vs Iowa City West
5:10 p.m. - Waverly-Shell Rock vs Nevada
6:45 p.m. - Spirit Lake vs Western Dubuque
8:20 - Linn-Mar vs Marion