Ollinger debuts with Lions, and Finley stars

MARION - Yes, she's eligible. And yes, she played.

But Amanda Ollinger wasn't the story Tuesday night.

Freshman Kamryn Finley made 7 of 8 shots from the field in a 19-point gem and Class 5A eighth-rated Linn-Mar hit a school-record 11 3-pointers in a 62-49 Mississippi Valley Conference girls' basketball victory over Cedar Rapids Kennedy at Linn-Mar High School.

There was Division-I talent aplenty on the floor - Ollinger is rated the 30th-best junior in the nation by ESPN.com while Kennedy's Lela Sellers is No. 60. But Finley took the stage and didn't shrink from it.

'Every day, Coach P (Jaime Printy Brandt) has us practice working the ball, not letting it stop anywhere,” Finley said. 'We're not a selfish team. We get everyone involved.”

The Lions (7-1 overall, 5-0 MVC) shot 57.5 percent from the floor (23 of 40), including 11 of 25 from long distance.

'(Assistant coach) Joe (Benedict) elbowed me while they were warming up and said they had made nine shots in a row,” said Kennedy Coach Tony Vis. 'I thought maybe he meant nine layups. He meant nine shots from 15 feet out beyond the 3-point arc.

'I was hoping with a defense on them, they'd cool down. They didn't.”

Tuesday marked the Ollinger's Linn-Mar debut. Her family moved into the district over the holiday break. The all-stater spent her first 2 1/2 seasons at Cedar Rapids Jefferson.

She played 2 1/2 minutes in the third quarter, collecting one steal.

'Amanda had practiced three times. She's still learning a lot,” Brandt said. 'It's going to be a process.”

Ollinger will be a major factor for the Lions eventually. They're a quality outfit, with or without her.

Linn-Mar led from wire to wire, storming to a 23-6 advantage in the first 9-plus minutes. The Lions had seven 3-pointers in the first half.

'I like the 3-pointer,” said Brandt, who hit a lot of them at Linn-Mar, then at Iowa.

When it was suggested that Finley is going to be a good one, Brandt responded, 'Ya think?”

The rookie made 4 of 5 shots from behind the arc. She added five rebounds and four steals.

'We're having a lot of fun,” Finley said. 'Our chemistry is amazing. They don't judge me because I'm young. They've got my back.”

Olivia Montague added 12 points, and Lannie Nietert came off the bench to hit all four of her shots in a nine-point outing.

Sellers paced Kennedy with 14 points, five rebounds and five steals. Sydney Hayden added 12 points, Stephanie Botkin 11.

LINN-MAR 62, CEDAR RAPIDS KENNEDY 49

At Linn-Mar

C.R. KENNEDY (49): Sydney Hayden 4-8 3-3 12, Lela Sellers 3-6 8-12 14, Abby Hellweg 1-4 3-4 5, Linden Runels 0-1 0-0 0, Stephanie Botkin 5-13 0-0 11, Ashley Hamilton 1-3 0-0 3, Katelyn Dye 1-3 0-0 2, Hailey Dolphin 1-5 0-0 2, Brinley Milbrath 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-43 14-22 49.

LINN-MAR (62): Lexi Frese 0-1 0-0 0, Brittney Lancial 1-2 3-4 6, Olivia Montague 4-14 0-0 12, Niki Sharma 3-4 0-1 6, Kamryn Finley 7-8 1-3 19, Lannie Nietert 4-4 1-1 9, Megan Murphy 2-5 0-0 5, Alie Akers 0-0 0-0 0, Claire Larson 2-2 0-0 5, Amanda Ollinger 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-40 62.

Halftime: Linn-Mar 36, Kennedy 24. 3-point goals: Kennedy 3-16 (Hayden 1-2, Sellers 0-1, Hellweg 0-2, Runels 0-1, Botkin 1-5, Hamilton 1-3, Dolphin 0-2), Linn-Mar 11-25 (Lancial 1-2, Monteague 4-13, Finley 4-5, Murphy 1-4, Larson 1-1). Team fouls: Kennedy 17, Linn-Mar 12. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: Kennedy 19 (Sellers, Botkin 5), Linn-Mar 30 (Lancial 6). Assists: Kennedy 8 (Hayden 4), Linn-Mar 2 (Nietert, Murphy 3). Steals: Kennedy 13 (Sellers 5), Linn-Mar 11 (Finley 4). Turnovers: Kennedy 19, Linn-Mar 26.