Metro Sports Report

No. 8 Linn-Mar boys top Senior 44-37

DUBUQUE - Nic Uhlir scored 13 points as No. 8 Linn-Mar was able to grind out a 44-37 win Tuesday night at Dubuque Senior.

The Lions (8-1, 6-0 MVC Valley Division) shot out to a 12-0 lead but then went cold as Senior gradually worked back into the game.

Linn-Mar led 27-23 after three quarters and was able to pull away in the final eight minutes.

Luke McDonnell led Senior (6-3, 4-2) with a game-high 16 points.

Ollinger scores 18 for Linn-Mar girls

Amanda Ollinger had 18 points and six rebounds as the fifth-ranked Linn-Mar girls basketball team beat Dubuque Senior 62-34 Tuesday at Linn-Mar.

The game was tied 9-9 after the first quarter, but the Lions (10-1) pulled away with a 22-10 run in the second quarter and never looked back.

Olivia Montague had 11 points for Linn-Mar, and Niki Sharma had nine points and six rebounds.

Emma Noel had nine points and eight rebounds for the Rams (6-6), and Makenzie Williams had eight points and eight rebounds.

Linn-Mar popping up in the polls

The Linn-Mar Lions have been popping up all over the place in the sports polls this winter.

Basketball, bowling, wrestling, swimming. Pick a sport and the Lions are listed prominently among the top teams in the state.

The Linn-Mar boys basketball team, riding a seven-game winning streak after a season-opening loss at Waukee, jumped from 10th to eighth in the new AP rankings Monday in Class 4A. The Lions collected a pair of impressive victories over Kennedy and Cedar Falls last week. A tough week is ahead with a game Tuesday night at Dubuque Senior before games at home Friday with No. 1 Iowa City West and on the road Saturday at No. 5 Ankeny Centennial.

The Linn-Mar girls basketball team, led by new coach Jaime (Printy) Brandt, is ranked fifth in Class 5A by the IGHSAU. The Lions have a 9-1 record and are headed for a showdown at No. 4 Iowa City West on Friday after hosting Dubuque Senior on Tuesday.

Are Mustangs ready for some football?

Some very smart people at Mount Mercy University could have some very big decisions to make this winter about the future of their athletic department.

The Mustangs are searching for a new league with the impending demise of the Midwest Collegiate Conference and there is no sure path to follow from here, with no blueprint and no obvious answers.

Mount Mercy has applied to the Heart of America Conference, which requires football, and the Mustangs also are talking to the North Star Conference, which does not require football.

Scot Reisinger, the athletic director at Mount Mercy, won't tip his hand either way. Conversations with both schools are ongoing, but it appears there could be a resolution this winter or spring.

What if the Heart of America extends an invitation to Mount Mercy and the North Star does not? And what if the Heart of America does not change its bylaws and insists the Mustangs will have to have a football team in the near future?

What then?

If the Heart of America is Mount Mercy's only chance to join a midwest league, will the Mustangs begin a football program or would they decide to operate as an NAIA independent for awhile?