Lynx end Western's title run

DES MOINES — Morgan Boer had the game of her life. Nicole Miller was Nicole Miller.

The crunch-time hero, though ... that was Katie Kurt.

Kurt drilled a tie-breaking 3-pointer late in overtime, then added a pair of free throws to help lead third-ranked North-Linn past No. 2 Western Christian, 73-71, in a heart-stopping Class 2A semifinal at the girls' state basketball tournament Thursday afternoon at Wells Fargo Arena.

'It's amazing, so incredible,' Boer said. 'I have tingles all over my body.'

It was certainly a goose-bump sort of game. And it was an immensely satisfying result for the Lynx, who had their run end at the hands of the Wolfpack in last year's semifinal.

The shoe's on the other foot, now. Western's three-year title reign is over.

Instead, the Lynx (25-1) will face No. 1 Unity Christian (26-0) for the championship at 8 p.m. Friday. Unity dusted No. 6 South Central Calhoun, 58-42, in Thursday's first semifinal.

Western (22-4) appeared to be on its way back to the finals when it led by nine points early in the fourth quarter. But the Lynx chipped away, then tied the game on five occasions, the last at 63-63 on Maddie Boer's two free throws with 42 seconds left.

Jamie Gesink missed a pair of free throws with 23 seconds left for Western, then Miller misfired on a runner just before the buzzer.

The extra session was tied at 66 when Kurt had the ball, open on the left wing with 1:20 to go. She hesitated, then rattled in the shot to put the Lynx for good.

'They definitely put me in to shoot, and that's what I did,' Kurt said. 'I can't even describe how I feel right now. We wanted this so bad, and we were so ready to play.'

Miller said she 'went crazy' for a moment after Kurt's shot, 'but then I knew I had to get back on defense.'

It was still 69-66 when backup Lynx post Ashley Tull was fouled and shaken up. Kurt came back off the bench and hit two free throws to extend the margin to five with 24 seconds left.

Miller hit 2 of 4 free throws down the stretch to wrap it up.

A Drake recruit, Miller warmed up after a slow start and scored 30 points. Morgan Boer was outstanding, adding 17 points on 8-of-12 shooting.

In the Lynx's first-round win over Des Moines Christian, only three players — Miller and the Boer sisters — scored. This time, there were contributions from all seven girls that played.

'It just proves that we're a team,' Miller said. 'Everyone can do things.'

North-Linn prevailed despite getting outrebounded, 45-27. That was neutralized somewhat by turnovers — 20 for the Wolfpack, nine for the Lynx.

'They were really strong with the ball,' said Gesink, who posted 28 points and 14 rebounds. 'They gave us a lot of good pressure and forced us into turnovers.'

Lynx Coach Brian Wheatley said, 'We don't have the athletes to get into a jumping contest with them. But we found other ways to win.'

Kenzie Bousema added 12 points for the Wolfpack. The defeat was only Western's ninth in 109 games the past four seasons.

'We had the lead up to nine points, and to see that slip away was really tough,' said Wolfpack Coach Bill Harmsen. 'North-Linn played an excellent game. They collapsed with their defense on our big girls and found our shooters on the perimeter.'

The Lynx scored the first eight points and led, 20-13, after one quarter before the Wolfpack got even at 31-all by halftime. The game featured 13 ties and four lead changes.

Gesink scored the first basket of overtime. Morgan Boer's steal and subsequent baseline shot gave the Lynx a 66-65 lead. After Kaira Moss tied it with a free throw with 1:46 left in OT, Kurt made the shot of the game.

'Katie has the green light,' Wheatley said. 'Like I tell her, if she's open, she'd better take it.'

He paused.

'I'm glad she took that one.'

NORTH-LINN 73, WESTERN CHRISTIAN 71, OT (Class 2A State Semifinal)

At Des Moines

WESTERN CHRISTIAN (71): Payton Harmsen 1-8 2-5 5, Kaira Moss 3-4 1-2 7, Kenzie Bousema 4-10 3-5 12, Jamie Gesink 9-17 9-13 28, Abbie Wolterstorff 2-4 0-0 6, Erika Feenstra 0-0 0-0 0, Erica Bousema 2-3 0-0 6, Corrie Jansen 0-0 0-0 0, Ashtyn Veerbeek 3-10 1-2 7. Totals 24-56 16-27 71.

NORTH-LINN (73): Maddie Boer 1-5 4-4 6, Kayla Carrothers 2-3 0-0 4, Nicole Miller 8-21 11-14 30, Brooke Dobney 1-3 0-1 3, Morgan Boer 8-12 1-2 17, Katie Kurt 2-4 3-4 8, Ashley Tull 2-5 1-4 5. Totals 24-53 20-29 73.

Halftime: Western 31, North-Linn 31. Regulation: 63-63. 3-point goals: Western 7-20 (Harmsen 1-8, K.Bousema 1-4, Gesink 1-3, Wolterstorff 2-2, E.Bousema 2-3). North-Linn 5-13 (Mad.Boer 0-1, Miller 3-7, Dobney 1-2, Kurt 1-3). Team fouls: Western 25, North-Linn 20. Fouled out: K.Bousema. Rebounds: Western 45 (Gesink 14), North-Linn 27 (Mor.Boer 8). Assists: Western 13 (Gesink 5), North-Linn 12 (Mad.Boer 6). Steals: Western 6 (Harmsen 3), North-Linn 10 (Miller 5). Turnovers: Western 20, North-Linn 9.

l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com