Linn-Mar Girls Basketball

Linn-Mar - Girls Basketball

No.8 Lions fall at No.6 SE Polk

Wed - 25 Feb Written by Bill Seals

RUNNELLS - Linn-Mar took the fight to a postseason-savvy Southeast Polk squad on its home court Tuesday night in a Class 5A regional final, but the Rams hung around and later used a 9-0 fourth-quarter run to pull away for a 56-45 victory.

It wasn’t the storybook ending the Lions were looking for, but Coach Jaime Printy Brandt’s first team drew perhaps the most difficult matchup of any of the 5A regional finalists.

Linn-Mar was tasked with a charter bus trip to Runnels on a weeknight to face a Southeast Polk team that’s played in the past two state championship games and won the title in 2013.

“They just hit some big shots,” said Brandt, who led the eighth-ranked Lions to a 16-8 record in her first season as head coach. “We lost a shooter a couple times, but credit to them, they came out and played well and shot the ball very well. That’s what they do.”

The Lions set the early tone by scoring 10 of the game’s first 12 points over the first 5:57 of the first quarter behind a pair of buckets from Olivia Montaque. Following the quick start, Linn-Mar grabbed a 16-8 lead after the opening period.

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Last Updated on Wednesday, 25 February 2015 00:14

Linn-Mar - Girls Basketball

No.8 Lions earn date at No.6 SE Polk

Sat - 21 Feb Written by Metro Sports Report

The eighth-ranked Linn-Mar girls basketball team cruised by Cedar Rapids Washington, 62-28, in the Class 5A regional semifinals at Linn-Mar Saturday night.

The Lions (16-7) will play at sixth-ranked Southeast Polk (16-6) in the regional finals Tuesday night in a showdown for a trip to the state tournament.

Linn-Mar built a 35-14 lead over the Warriors at halftime and never looked back. Amanda Ollinger led a balanced scoring attack with three 3-pointers and 14 points. Kamryn Finley scored 13 points and Olivia Montague had 11.

Joniqua Clark and Kandis O'Donnell scored seven points apiece for the cold-shooting Warriors (13-9). Washington shot 1-for-17 on 3-pointers and was 9-for-39 overall from the field.

WASHINGTON (28): Clark 2 3-3 7, Semrau 0 0-0 0, Visser 2 0-1 4, Corey 0 1-2 1, B. Hoeger 0 0-0 0, Hartman 0 0-0 0, Squires 1 0-0 2, Arrington 1 0-0 3, Bruner 0 0-0 0, Puk 0 0-0 0, O'Donnell 3 1-3 7, Oler 0 4-4 4, Johnson 0 0-0 0, Cullen 0 0-0 0, M. Hoeger 0 0-0 0. Totals 9 9-13 28.

LINN-MAR (62): Ross 0 0-0 0, Lorenz 0 0-0 0, Swanson 0 0-0 0, R. Frese 0 0-0 0, Noggle 0 2-2 2, Akers 0 1-2 1, L. Frese 1 1-2 3, Lancial 0 0-0 0, Glanz 0 0-0 0, Fensterman 0 0-0 0, Murphy 1 0-0 3, Montague 4 1-1 11, Sharma 2 0-2 4, Finley 3 7-7 13, Larson 1 5-6 8, Ollinger 5 1-1 14, Nietert 1 1-1 3. Totals 18 19-24 62.

Halftime - Linn-Mar 35, Washington 14. 3-point goals - Washington 1 (Arrington 1), Linn-Mar 7 (Ollinger 3, Montague 2, Murphy 1, Larson 1).

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Linn-Mar - Girls Basketball

Ollinger drives Linn-Mar girls by Prairie

Fri - 13 Feb Written by Metro Sports Report

Amanda Ollinger scored 19 points to lead the Linn-Mar girls basketball team in a 58-39 win over Prairie on Friday at Linn-Mar.

Ollinger popped in four 3-pointers.

After trailing 6-4 in the first quarter, the Lions took off with a 21-9 run in the second quarter and cruised to the win.

Olivia Montague scored 11 points. Nikita Sharma, Kamryn Finley and Lannie Nietert each added nine points.

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Linn-Mar - Girls Basketball

Nikita Sharma of Linn-Mar drives for a basket against Meghan Joens of Xavier during Tuesday night's game at Xavier. (MSR photo by Ken Gilchrist)

Sharma helps Lions stifle Saints

Wed - 11 Feb Written by Tom Fruehling

Linn-Mar senior Niki Sharma is the kind of basketball player every good team needs.

“She does all those things that don’t show up on the stat sheet,” said her coach Jaime (Printy) Brandt Tuesday night after the resurgent Lions (14-7) smothered Xavier, 42-24, on the Saints' home floor.

A lithe and nimble 5-foot-11 forward, Sharma looks to others first, passes with precision, handles the ball easily and guards tenaciously. She’s also like a ringmaster on the court, directing traffic and shouting encouragement.

"Nikita’s the glue that holds everything together out there,” Brandt said.

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Linn-Mar - Girls Basketball