Three words said it all for Kennedy Coach Dennis Roloff after the Cougars became the latest team to feel the bite of the Linn-Mar Lions.

“Too many weapons.”

The Cougars played tenacious defense and relied on sharp shooting by Courtney Strait to stay close throughout the first half of Friday night’s tilt, but crumpled under the weight of a balanced second-half attack by the Lions. Kennedy (5-8, 5-6) fell 68-42 to the Valley’s top team.

No. 2 Linn-Mar (14-1, 10-1), which hadn’t played since last Thursday’s squeaker over  Washington, struggled to find shots in the first half as Kiah Stokes, their 6-foot-3 star, was double- and triple-teamed.

“We came out slow,” said Coach Mike Brandt. “We weren’t looking to attack their junk, (they were) running a little triangle, trying to face guard Kiah. We just kind of stood around and didn’t really look to attack the basket.”
 
Stokes and Strait, the Metro’s two top scorers, played nearly even in the first half, scoring 13 and 12 points, respectively. Linn-Mar’s Kailee Karr also popped in 13 points in the first half, including four buckets in the second period, to keep the Lions ahead 31-25 at the break.

After the half, Stokes’ teammates stepped up and took advantage of the gaps created by the Cougars’ efforts to hold the Connecticut signee in check. Five other Lions found the hoop in the third period as they outscored the Cougars 22-14 to take a commanding 53-39 lead.

“We have a lot of kids that can score and they just have to feel comfortable doing that,” Brandt said. “I thought second half we did a much better job of executing that. We know teams are going to put two people on Kiah, face guard her and leave people open, and if they’re going to do that we’ve got to make them pay.”

Linn-Mar junior forward Shanice Cheatham applied the most pain, cutting repeatedly to the basket as she dropped in 12 second-half points.

“Shanice did an outstanding job off the bench, of catching that ball and working well with Kiah when she got double teamed,” Brandt said. “And Kiah did a great job on the offensive boards. She has to realize that she has to make those things happen because good teams that want to do it can take you out.”

Stokes, the state’s leading rebounder as well as scorer, hauled in 22 rebounds to go with her game-high 25 points. Karr backed her up with 18 points.

Kennedy’s Strait led the Cougars with 17 points, three above her season average. Olivia Meier added 11 points. 

Brandt said the Lions’ strong finish provided a good tune-up for Saturday’s 2:45 p.m. game against undefeated Ballard, ranked No. 1 in 3A, at the U.S. Cellular Center.

“The girls are excited to play Ballard," he said. "We’ve had a little break – over a week – and sometimes I like it better to keep playing and keep that rhythm. Second half they got it rolling it again.”

Kennedy hosts Ames Saturday at 5 p.m.

LINN-MAR (68): Martins 0 0-0 0, Brandt 1 2-4 5, Strauel 0 0-0 0, Thrune 1 0-0 3, Karr 8 1-2 18, Cheatham 6 0-4 12, Eells 2 0-0 6, Major 0 0-0 0, Stokes 10 5-6 25, Seckman 0 0-0 0, Koelker 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 28 8-16 68

KENNEDY (42): Johnson 1 0-0 3, Meier 5 1-2 11, Strait 7 1-2 17, Wright 0 0-0 0,  Simmons 0 0-0 0, Huebsch 0 0-0 0, Muench 0 2-2 2, Nunnikhoven 1 0-0 2, Happel 1 0-0 2, Hildebrand 1 2-2 5, Schulz 2 0-1 4. Schlueter 0 0-2 0, Nelson 0 0-1 0. Totals 16 6-11 42.

Halftime – Linn-Mar 31, Kennedy 25. 3-point goals – Linn-Mar 4 (Eells – 2, Karr, Thrune), Kennedy 4 (Strait – 2, Hildebrand, Johnson . Fouls – Linn-Mar 16, Kennedy 18. Fouled out - none.