Linn-Mar Girls Basketball

Linn-Mar thumped by No. 1 Iowa City West

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).

Linn-Mar girls tumble at Wendy's Classic

DUBUQUE - It turned out to be a long weekend for the Linn-Mar girls basketball team.

The 10th-ranked Lions lost to Quincy Notre Dame of Illinois, 56-29, at the Wendy's Classic in Dubuque Saturday afternoon.

The setback came on the heels of a 63-43 loss to Cedar Rapids Prairie Friday night at Prairie.

Courtney Major led Linn-Mar (6-3) with 10 points. Jordan Frericks led Quincy Notre Dame with 14 points.

LINN-MAR (29): Yearling 0 2-6 2, Brandt 2 2-3 7, Strauel 1 0-0 2, Harms 0 0-0 0, Eiles 0 0-0 0, Cheatham 1 2-2 4, Duggan 0 0-0 0, Major 4 0-0 10, Koelker 0 0-0 0, Ryder 1 0-0 2, Livenguth 1 0-0 2. Totals 10 6-11 29.

QUINCY NOTRE DAME (56): Rigg 0 0-0 0, Foley 1 0-0 3, Kr. Gengenbacher 0 0-0 0, B. Gengenbacher 0 0-0 0, Barnes 2 0-0 6, Arnold 0 0-0 0, Kat. Gengenbacher 0 0-0 0, Kas. Gengenbacher 5 0-0 13, Kuhn 2 2-2 6, Frericks 6 2-2 14, Waterkotte 1 0-0 2, Foley 0 0-0 0, Martin 4 4-4 12. Totals 21 8-8 56.

Halftime - Quincy Notre Dame 29, Linn-Mar 11. 3-point goals - Linn-Mar 3 (Major 2, Brandt), Quincy Notre Dame - 6 (Gengenbacher 3, Barnes 2, Foley).

Prairie girls stun No.10 Linn-Mar, 63-43

Steve Doser has been saying for several weeks that the Cedar Rapids Prairie girls basketball team will be fun to watch this season.

They certainly were Friday night.

Sophomore Madison Dellamuth popped in 25 points as Prairie stunned 10th-ranked Linn-Mar, 63-43, in a Mississippi Valley Conference game in the Prairie gym.

The Hawks jumped to a quick 13-0 lead and held the Lions scoreless for the first six minutes of the game. "We had to come in with intensity, just more than what they had," Dellamuth said after the surprisingly easy triumph. "I think we did that tonight."

It was a significant victory for Prairie, which won only four games last season. The Hawks are 5-3 overall and 4-2 in the Valley with lots of time to do even more damage.

"I think it was really big," Dellamuth said. "We trust each other. We have a lot of confidence in each other. We played like a team and a family."

Prairie swarmed all over the court, forcing turnovers and converting Linn-Mar's mistakes into points. The Hawks were the quicker, more aggressive team.

"We really wanted to beat them," said junior Courteney McCrary, who scored 12 points. "We knew we could beat them, and it happened. We knew we had to come out strong. We were making our shots and playing good defense."

Linn-Mar (6-2, 3-2) won the Class 4A state title in 2010 and reached the semifinals last season, but Kiah Stokes graduated and other teams - like Prairie - are catching up. Doser thinks Friday's victory could be a turning point for his club.

"Absolutely," he said. "You match yourself up against Linn-Mar. They have a great program and Mike (Brandt) does a great job. You have to match yourself up against the best and that's how you see where you're at."

Doser said it's the first time Prairie has defeated Linn-Mar since the pre-Stokes era five years ago. "It's been awhile," he said.

Linn-Mar pulled within 17-12 in the second quarter after its miserable start, but Dellamuth hit two straight 3-pointers for a 23-12 advantage. McCrary scored on a putback and hit a triple of her own, and suddenly it was 28-12 with an 11-0 run against the No. 10 team in the state.

Doser liked his team's aggressive, hard-nosed approach.

"That's what I told them: The most aggressive team is going to win tonight," he said. "And I thought our kids were really aggressive and did a nice job."

Dellamuth poured in 18 of her game-high 25 points in the first half to help Prairie grab a 37-19 cushion at intermission. The margin reached 22 points at 48-26 midway through the third period and climbed to 24 points late in the game.

Doser stresses dominating the first three minutes of each quarter, and that was the case in each of the first three periods Friday. Linn-Mar never got closer than 13 points in the second half.

"We've been telling them: The first three minutes of every quarter, you've got to own it or we'll get owned," he said. "And I thought tonight they really owned the first three minutes in each quarter really well."

Dellamuth was Prairie's starting point guard last season as a freshman, but she focused mostly on her passing and playmaking while averaging 9.7 points. She's raised her scoring average to 12.6 this season without neglecting her point-guard duties.

She hit a series of big shots Friday night, especially the consecutive 3-pointers after Linn-Mar rallied within 17-12. "This year compared to last year, I'm a little more relaxed and that helps a lot," Dellamuth said. "I've gotten used to it."

Dellamuth is being watched by Division I college basketball programs and still has 2 1/2 years left in her prep career. She's an adept ballhandler, passer and shooter.

"She looks like she's having a lot more fun than last year," Doser said. "I think she doesn't feel as much pressure. She's adding to her game, and that's trying to score more. She's always been a great distributor of the ball."

Dellamuth finished with four 3-pointers.

Courtney Major led Linn-Mar with 11 points.

LINN-MAR (43): Shanice Cheatham 1 0-0 2, Rachel Thrune 0 1-2 1, Courtney Major 4 1-2 11, Mykaela Brandt 1 4-4 7, Sara Strauel 2 1-4 5, Hannah Yearling 3 2-4 8, Kristen Eiles 2 0-0 5, Alexis Libenguth 0 0-2 0, Kelsey Duggan 0 0-0 0, Jenna Harms 0 2-2 2, Lauren Koelker 0 0-0 0, Carly Ryder 1 0-0 2. Totals 14 11-20 43.

PRAIRIE (63): Katilyn Yanacek 3 2-2 8, Cyerra Hutchins 1 0-1 2, Courteney McCrary 5 0-0 12, Alisa Weiland 3 0-0 7, Madison Dellamuth 8 5-6 25, Emilie Rotter 1 2-2 4, Mackenzie Serbousek 1 0-0 2, Abby Ganske 0 0-0 0, Allison Neuhaus 0 0-0 0, Josie Wagner 0 0-0 0, Taylor Sanders 1 0-0 3, Haley Meyer 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 9-11 63.

Halftime - Prairie 37, Linn-Mar 19. 3-point goals - Linn-Mar 4 (Major 2, Brandt 1, Eiles 1), Prairie 8 (Dellamuth 4, McCrary 2, Weiland 1, Sanders 1).

Brandt drives Linn-Mar girls past Cedar Falls

Lions, Tigers and Brandt don’t scare.

Oh my.

Linn-Mar Junior guard Mykaela Brandt is listed at 5-foot-6. But she took the ball to the hole against Cedar Falls 6-3 center Kaz Brown with no fear when it mattered Tuesday night in a defining 48-45 victory for the 12th ranked Lions at home.

A high school game is 32 minutes, but the last three and half were a must-see in a battle of MVC big cats.

Brandt showed everyone how to close out a close game as she refused to lose, getting the ball to the rim three straight times after Cedar Falls had tied it up.

With the game knotted at 40 with 3:15 left, Brandt drove for two. Then again with about 2:30 to play and the game tied at 42, Brandt got another layup as the Lions retook the lead. With just over a minute to play Brandt struck one last time, breaking a 44-44 tie with another strong slash to the hoop to give the Lions the lead for good.

“I was thinking relax and play the game,” Brandt said of her mind frame late in the game. “I know we are quick and can get to the basket.”

Her Dad, Linn-Mar head Coach Michael Brandt, was pleased with his daughter and her teammates.

“It is huge for us to have people ready to stop up especially late," Coach Brandt said. “I am happy how we weathered being down and tied late.”

Brandt may have scored what turned out to be the game winning basket, but it wasn’t quite over. Brown made one of two free throws for the Tigers to cut it to 46-45 before  Linn-Mar junior Courtney Major went to the line for a one and one with 30 seconds to play. After leaving the door open with a miss, she came back with 10 seconds left and drained a pair to extend the lead to three.

The Lion defense did the rest, forcing the Tigers into a desperation 3-point attempt that fell short and cemented the win.

Both teams played man defense from the start with the Lions putting on some full court pressure. Cedar Falls got a couple tough blows early when starter Imonee Qualls left for the night with an ankle injury and leader scorer Allie Wirth picked up three fouls. The Lions were hurt by fouls, too. Major picked up two early fouls. The Lions' depth helped them take an 11-8 lead after the first.

The Lions (6-1, 3-1) and Tigers (6-3, 4-1) both shot poorly for the majority of the second quarter but a late surge from Brandt gave the Lions a six-point halftime lead.

“I was happy with the shot selection they just didn’t fall,” Coach Brandt said of his team's 26 percent shooting in the half. “I’ll take those shots all day.”

The majority of the second half was controlled by West's Brown. She scored all 12 of her points in the second half and controlled the paint with her long arms.

“No doubt Cedar Falls is a great team, a shot blocker like that (Brown) makes it hard to score in the paint,” Coach Brandt said. “We got to see what we had for four years (with Kiah Stokes).”

Cedar Falls trailed by four going in to the fourth, but took a lead with six minutes to play. From there the game went back and forth until Brandt took control.

Brandt led the Lions with 17 points and Major added 10.

CEDAR FALLS (45): Allie Wirth 2 0-0 4, Imonee Qualls 0 0-0 0, Emily Neff 4 0-0 8, Krystal Graves 4 5-5 14, Kaz Brown 3 6-10 12, Mackenzie DeMuth 2 2-2 7, Jacquelin Conrad 0 0-0 0. Team 15 13-17 45.

LINN-MAR (48): Mykaela Brandt 7 1-2 17, Sara Strauel 1 2-2 4, Rachel Thrune 0 0-0 0, Shanice Cheatham 2 0-0 4, Courtney Major 3 3-5 10, Kristen Eiles 0 0-0 0, Hannah Yearling 3 1-1 7, Alexis Libenguth 1 0-0 2, Carly Ryder 2 0-0 4. Team 19 7-10 48.

Halftime – Linn-Mar 25, Cedar Falls 19. 3-point Goals – Linn-Mar 3 (Brandt 2, Major), Cedar Falls 2 (Graves, DeMuth). Total Fouls – Linn-Mar 15 Cedar Falls 15.