IOWA CITY - Tenth-ranked Linn-Mar seemingly had the key to playing top-ranked Iowa City West in the first quarter Tuesday night.

The Lions didn't let the Women of Troy run and get easy baskets. They packed in a zone and blocked shots by would-be drivers. They were successful enough to trail by only three after the quarter.

But Iowa City West is unbeaten and top-ranked because it can turn a game on a dime. The Women of Troy outscored the Lions 15-1 to start the second period and built a 25-point halftime lead before rolling to a 74-51 victory.

West improved to 9-0 overall and 6-0 in the Mississippi Valley Conference as it heads into the holiday break. The Lions are 6-4 and 3-3 after losing their third game in a row.

"It's nice to get the final win and take a couple days off," West senior guard Brianna Sturtz said. "We knew they would be good because they played us really well last year and we knocked them out of the tournament. We knew they'd come with everything they had."

West goes into the break with wins over ranked teams Xavier and Linn-Mar after some early blowouts. "We play Washington next and we know they are really good, so we have momentum going into that," senior Jessica Shull said.

In the crucial second quarter, West held Linn-Mar to one field goal, a three from Mykaela Brandt in transition to cut the lead to 30-16. But then West ticked off a 15-2 run.

"Coach (B.J.) Mayer just told us that they matched our intensity in the first (quarter), and that we needed to step up and play at our level and not at their level," Sturtz said. "We went to a diamond on the press, but I just think other than that we didn't come out with our firepower like we normally do. In the second quarter we came out like we normally start games."

"We just came out and I could feel a different vibe; it was totally different," Shull said. "We started stealing the ball and made really good assists on fast breaks and in transition. I could feel a huge change."

West's players were well aware of the Lions' strategy, and it caused a little bit of anxiety when it seemed effective early.

"They tried to slow us down and take the fast break away," Sturtz said. "We try to get a lot of our points on throwing it ahead and they really made us set up our offense."

"I had a feeling in my head we were going to pull it out and start playing our game," Shull said. "But I was a little worried at the beginning."

The game was halted late in the third quarter when Linn-Mar senior Shanice Cheatham drove into the lane from the left wing and collapsed. Her knee buckled and she lay on the ground for several minutes as West trainer Sheila Stiles attended to her.

Cheatham was carried off the court by Linn-Mar Coach Michael Brandt and West athletic director Marv Reiland. She later returned on crutches with an ice pack taped to her knee.

"It doesn't look good," Brandt said. "She'll be evaluated when we get back, but it does not look good. She had an ACL her freshman year too. I'm not saying that's what it is, but it just didn't look good the way she planted it and it buckled under."

As to the game, Brandt was pleased with his team's enthusiasm and effort throughout the game.

"I liked the whole game," he said. "Our biggest thing is to try to come with that energy and enthusiasm. Now we didn't hit every shot and we made some bad passes at times, but we were in the right spot. We have 21 practice games before the postseason, and that's kind of our attitude in every game.

"That's the No.1 team in the state. They've got great athletes. I was very happy that our kids never backed down. If we keep that kind of effort, good things are going to happen."

Mykaela Brandt led the Lions with 13 points. Sara Strauel had 10. West was led by Ally Disterhoft, Shelly Stumpff and McKenzie Piper, who all had 13.

Linn-Mar isn't used to losing three in a row, but there's an explanation. The Lions lost to a hot Prairie team on the road, then lost to the top-ranked team in Illinois, Quincy Notre Dame, on Saturday before falling to Iowa's top-ranked team.

"I thought they really responded," Brandt said. "I thought we grew tonight. I thought we learned and did some really nice things."

LINN-MAR (51): Mykaela Brandt 5-11 0-0 13, Sara Strauel 3-6 4-6 10, Rachel Thrune 0-3 2-2 2, Sharice Cheatham 2-4 0-0 4, Courtney Major 2-4 1-2 7, Hannah Yearling 0-6 1-2 1, Alexis Libenguth 1-2 1-3 3, Kristen Eiles 3-5 0-0 7, Carly Ryder 0-2 2-4 2, Jenna Harms 0-0 2-2 2, Kelsey Duggan 0-1 0-0 0, Lauren Koelker 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16 13-21 51.

IOWA CITY WEST (74): Ally Disterhoft 6-12 1-2 13, Brianna Sturtz 3-4 2-2 9, Shelly Stumpff 5-11 2-2 13, Jessica Shull 3-7 3-4 10, McKenzie Piper 3-6 6-8 13, Shahana Williams 1-3 0-0 2, Tatum Klein 4-8 1-3 12, Kelley Fliehler 1-1 0-1 2, Griffin Reed 0-3 0-0 0, Mikaela Morgan 0-1 0-0 0, Lauren Larson 0-1 0-0 0, Mackenzie Haight 0-0 0-0 0, Laynie Whitehead 0-0 0-0 0, Grace Tafolla 0-0 0-0 0, Danielle Craig 0-1 0-0 0, Mollie Mason 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26 15-22 74.

Halftime - Iowa City West 46, Linn-Mar 21.  3-point goals - Linn-Mar 6 (Brandt, Major 2, Eiles 1), West 7 (Klein 3, Sturtz 1, Stumpff 1, Shull 1, Piper 1).