Linn-Mar has just enough down the stretch

CEDAR RAPIDS -- The Linn-Mar Lions made plays at the end, if not all of their free throws.Class 4A third-ranked Linn-Mar scored the final six points in the last 90 seconds and edged No. 5 Cedar Rapids Washington, 44-41, in a Mississippi Valley Conference girls' basketball game Thursday night at Washington High School."I'm very proud that we kept our composure and executed down the stretch," said Linn-Mar Coach Mike Brandt. "I'd have liked to have made more free throws at the end, but we did a nice job keeping our heads.The Lions (13-1 overall, 9-1 MVC) went to the line 14 times in the final 2:06. They didn't even break even -- making six -- but it was enough.Kailee Karr's foul shot with 0:59 left tied the game at 41-all, then Jenna Eells hit a free throw to put Linn-Mar ahead with 31 seconds remaining.University of Connecticut signee Kiah Stokes missed four in a row before hitting two with 0.9 seconds left to complete the scoring."I don't know what was up with that," Stokes said. "You miss a couple, and it gets in your head. You just have to deal with it."Amidst all of that, the Warriors (10-2, 7-2) turned the ball over twice and missed a pair of go-ahead 3-point attempts."We had some ball-security issues," said Washington Coach Frank Howell. "The difference was razor-thin between victory and defeat."Washington's Alissa Oney said, "Those two turnovers were crucial at the end. It's a hard loss; we just couldn't hold on."The Warriors couldn't capitalize on a terrific defensive effort against Stokes, who was held to 4-of-11 shooting from the floor in an 18-point, 16-rebound outing."They're a physical team, and it's difficult when they've got two or three people guarding you," she said. "But I love it when my teammates step up."Thursday, that was primarily Rachel Thrune, who scored eight of her nine points in the first half. Linn-Mar appeared poised for an easy win early, taking a 20-8 lead before the Warriors' reserves staged a rally.Washington was within 23-20 at halftime, then took its first lead of the game at 28-27 on Tia Dawson's putback with 2:05 left in the third quarter.The Warriors had a pair of three-point leads but couldn't hold them.Oney paced Washington with 10 points. Linn-Mar was 14 of 28 from the line; Washington was 1 for 3.With the victory, the Lions extended their Mississippi Division lead to 1 1/2 games over Washington, Iowa City High and Waterloo West with six league games to play. Linn-Mar has claimed three straight divisional titles. The rematch is Feb. 10 at Linn-Mar.

AT C.R. WASHINGTON

LINN-MAR (44): Mykaela Brandt 0-4 0-1 0, Rachel Thrune 4-9 1-2 9, Kailee Karr 3-13 1-2 7, Jenna Eells 2-5 1-4 7, Kiah Stokes 4-11 10-18 18, Shanice Cheatham 1-5 1-1 3, Leandra Martins 0-6 0-0 0, Courtney Major 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 14-53 14-28 44.

C.R. WASHINGTON (41): Ashley Piper 1-9 1-2 4, Alissa Oney 5-11 0-0 10, Jordon Pilcher 1-5 0-0 2, Jazz Royster 1-6 0-0 3, Tia Dawson 2-4 0-0 4, Janay Pritchett 1-4 0-0 2, Madison Kramer 2-3 0-0 5, Layloni Beard 0-1 0-0 0, Abby Herb 2-3 0-0 4, Jordan Carr 0-0 0-0 0, Tasha Roundtree 3-5 0-1 7, Kelli Klaus 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-51 1-3 41.

Halftime: Linn-Mar 23, Washington 20.

Team fouls: Linn-Mar 8, Washington 22.

Fouled out: Dawson.

3-point goals: Linn-Mar 2-12 (Brandt 0-3, Thrune 0-1, Karr 0-2, Eells 2-5, Martins 0-1), Washington 4-22 (Piper 1-7, Oney 0-3, Pilcher 0-1, Royster 1-4, Dawson 0-1, Pritchett 0-1, Kramer 1-2, Roundtree 1-3).

Rebounds: Linn-Mar 41 (Stokes 16), Washington 42 (Dawson 10).

Assists: Linn-Mar 7 (Brandt 2), Washington 5 (Roundtree 2).

Steals: Linn-Mar 10 (Karr 4), Washington 8 (Piper, Oney, Pilcher 2).

Turnovers: Linn-Mar 14, Washington 18.