Linn-Mar Girls Basketball

Ollinger helps Lions escape Indians

For a while Saturday night, it looked like the age-old (but sometimes interrupted) rivalry between the Linn-Mar and Marion girls was going to be more of the same.

The traditionally dominant Lions charged out to a 19-8 lead on the big stage at the U.S. Cellular Center while the freshman-laden Indians appeared to have a case of the jitters.

Marion senior workhorse Amanda Sahm took charge, however, and even coaxed her young teammates into the lead before finally falling 52-48.

As was bound to happen sooner or later, new Linn-Mar star Amanda Ollinger (with help from her former AAU pal Niki Sharma) celebrated a second half coming-out party that proved too tough for the undersized Marion girls to handle.

In her third game since transferring from Jefferson at mid-season, the 6-foot-1 all-stater pumped in 15 of her game-high 17 points after halftime. She also collected a team-high nine rebounds along with three crucial steals and two blocks.

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No. 5 Lions top No. 6 Tigers 54-51

CEDAR FALLS – Amanda Ollinger made a traditional 3-point play in the final second to give the fifth-ranked Linn-Mar girls basketball team a 54-51 win over No. 6 Cedar Falls on Tuesday.

Kamryn Finley had 17 points to lead the Tigers, who improved to 8-1.

The teams entered halftime tied at 29-29. The Tigers went up 45-42 entering the fourth quarter, but the Lions came back with a 12-6 fourth-quarter run.

Megan Murphy added nine points for Linn-Mar, which shot 11-of-12 from the free-throw line.

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Lions, Saints climb in girls rankings

The Linn-Mar Lions jumped three spots to fifth in the Class 5A girls basketball rankings Thursday by the IGHSAU.

The Xavier Saints also climbed three spots to 11th in the Class 4A poll.

Linn-Mar has gotten off to a 7-1 start this season under new coach Jaime Printy Brandt. Xavier has gotten off to a 7-3 start under veteran coach Tom Lilly.

West Des Moines Valley is ranked No. 1 in Class 5A. Harlan is the top-ranked club in Class 4A. The other top-ranked teams are Pocahontas in Class 3A, Western Christian in 2A and Burlington Notre Dame in 1A.

CLASS 5A

1. West Des Moines Valley (9-0), 2. Waukee (7-1), 3. Dowling (8-2), 4. Iowa City West (9-0), 5. Linn-Mar (7-1), 6. Cedar Falls (9-1), 7. Iowa City High (7-2), 8. Ankeny Centennial (5-4), 9. Johnston (6-3), 10. Southeast Polk (5-2).

CLASS 4A

1. Harlan (8-0), 2. Western Dubuque (9-0), 3. Ballard (9-0), 4. Carlisle (8-1) 5. Perry (7-2), 6. Waverly-Shell Rock (10-0), 7. Davenport North (9-0), 8. North Scott (8-1), 9. Sioux City Heelan (6-1), 10. Indianola (8-2), 11. Xavier (7-3), 12. Pella (6-2), 13. Keokuk (7-1), 14. Lewis Central (8-2), 15. Grinnell (8-1).

Ollinger mostly sits as Lions top Cougars

Kennedy Coach Tony Vis had a bad feeling before tipoff at Linn-Mar Tuesday night, but he thought it would pass.

“We knew they were an outside-oriented team and like to shoot from out there,” Vis said of the Class 5A eighth-ranked Lions. “They were hot in the warmups and, obviously, it carried right on over into the game.”

Indeed, Linn-Mar canned seven of nine 3-point attempts in the first half alone (and 11 overall for a new school record) while running out to a 33-14 lead.

The Cougars (7-3) tried mightily to catch up but still came up short, 62-49.

Amanda Ollinger made a quiet debut for Linn-Mar, playing briefly in the third quarter and finishing with one steal. She transferred to Linn-Mar from Jefferson during the holiday break.

Even without Ollinger's help, the Lions were too much for the Cougars.

“I thought from a certain point in the second quarter on, we played pretty well,” said Vis. “The start was the key with that 19-point hole. It seemed like we were going to be stuck on five points all night.”

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