Metro Sports Report

Eltze leads Kennedy girls in bowling

Sam Eltze had a 156 game and a 271 series to lead the Kennedy girls bowling team to a 1,854 to 1,427 win over Iowa City High on Thursday at the Cedar Rapids Bowling Center.

Ciarra Butikofer had a 210 series for the Little Hawks.

IOWA CITY HIGH: Ciarra Butikofer 109-101=210, Sara Lamarche 85-117=202, Jami Kendall 89-94=183, Alex Murra 94-88=182, Helen Cook 97-82=179.

KENNEDY: Sam Eltze 115-156=271, Mary Liscum 135-129=264, Alli Marshall 144-111=255, Stephanie Walton 112-123=235, Baileigh Allen 111-106=217, Madeline Dvorak 87-120=207.

Iowa City High: 956-471=1,427.

Kennedy: 1,242-612=1,854.

Hayden helps Cougars top Wash in OT

Hitting a big 3-pointer in a clutch situation in a tense basketball game is a lot gentler on the nervous system than being the final shooter in a PK shootout in soccer, even though the outcome is hanging in the balance in both cases.

Just ask Kennedy senior Sydney Hayden.

"The last shooter in a PK shootout is a lot tougher, to be honest with you," said Sydney Hayden, who is an expert in both sports. "It's a little more nerve-wracking."

Hayden kept her cool Tuesday night and drilled a huge 3-pointer with seven seconds left in the fourth quarter to lift the Cougars into a 51-51 tie with Washington and force overtime in the Mississippi Valley Conference game at Washington.

Hayden then began the extra session with another 3-pointer to help steer the seventh-ranked Cougars to a 67-59 victory.

Ollinger nets 1,000, but Lions fall

She wasn’t feeling well to begin with, but then what started out as a milestone night for Linn-Mar senior Amanda Ollinger ended up with her on the bench with five fouls and a bloody nose to boot.

What’s worse, her previously undefeated sixth-ranked team gradually squandered an 11-point first half lead and fell at home Tuesday night to ninth-ranked Iowa City High, 60-49.

It’s easy to see where the game was won for the methodical Little Hawks. It was from the free throw line, where they were 25 for 29.

And in the fourth quarter, which started tied at 38-all, they converted all 13 of their attempts to go with just four field goals. The Lions, on the other hand, shot just four free throws all evening.

“I thought we settled for a lot of threes,” said Linn-Mar coach Jaime Brandt, whose girls were nine of 25 from long-distance for the night. “They were in a zone, and most of our shots were coming from the outside.

“They were a lot more aggressive and got it to the rim. And in the second half, especially, I think we were a little too timid.”

Usher wins Metro Spotlight Award

Olivia Usher of Cedar Rapids Prairie is the winner of the Metro Spotlight Award for high school girls this week, the Metro Sports Report announced Sunday.

Usher, a 5-foot-9 senior, is the leader of the Prairie girls basketball team that has gotten off to a 4-2 start this season with victories over Muscatine, Marion, Jefferson and Dubuque Senior. The Hawks have already matched their victory total from last season, when they finished with a 4-18 record.

Usher is averaging 11.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.7 steals as Prairie's primary point guard. Those numbers do not include her strong defense and leadership.