Cougars rally; Roloff earns 300th win (VIDEO)

CEDAR RAPIDS -- The weight of the accomplishment will sink in later.In the jubilant moments afterward, amid the dozens of embraces, Dennis Roloff wondered how his team pulled it off.Olivia Meier scored on a baseline drive with 10 seconds left, then drew a charge on Dani Peyton with 2 ticks remaining as Cedar Rapids Kennedy edged Marion, 50-49, in a girls' basketball game Saturday night at Kennedy High School, giving Roloff his 300th career win at the school."We didn't make it easy on ourselves," said Courtney Strait, who scored 14 of her 19 points in the second half. "Nobody talked about it, but it was implied (among the team) that we had to win this game."The coach at Kennedy since 1991, Roloff has compiled a 300-154 record in his 20 seasons at the school. He has taken five teams to state, piloting the Cougars to the Class 4A semifinals in 2009 and 2010.He has announced his retirement from teaching after the school year and is undecided on his coaching future in girls' basketball and boys' track."(The milestone) will sink in later," Roloff said. "I'm been very fortunate to coach a lot of young people that set the bar high. Anne O'Neil did a lot for this program as far as making a lot of little girls want to play basketball for Kennedy, and I owe (Cedar Rapids Jefferson Coach) Larry Niemeyer everything I've learned about basketball."Roloff was an assistant for Niemeyer for 12 years.Kennedy (8-13) prevailed by making plays at both ends of the court in the final minute. Marion (6-15) had a 49-46 lead and possession before the Cougars rallied.Kali Hildebrand picked off a crosscourt pass at midcourt and converted the steal into a layup that got the Cougars within a point with 51 seconds to go.Peyton missed a pair of free throws, giving Meier an opportunity to atone for what had been a subpar game.She delivered."My game was off tonight, and I had two thoughts -- either get the basket or draw a foul," Meier said.Meier got the ball in the right corner, drove hard to the hoop and banked it in for her only field goal in 10 attempts.Then she made it stick, drawing the charge from Peyton."I knew she was going baseline, so it was either going to be two free throws or a charge and we win the game," Meier said.Meier took the subsequent inbounds pass, held the ball until the buzzer sounded and joined the euphoria.Marion led the majority of the game, including a 38-31 advantage late in the third quarter."We played hard, but we're still learning how to win," said Marion Coach Brian O'Donnell. "It wasn't for a lack of effort or a lack of desire."Mariah Simmons came off the bench to score 11 points for the Cougars.Peyton scored 15 points for Marion. Kristin Kramer added 13.Kennedy will play at Cedar Rapids Prairie in a Class 4A regional opener on Wednesday. Marion will host Anamosa in a 3A regional quarterfinal.

AT C.R. KENNEDY

MARION (49): Leah Smith 0-1 2-2 2, Jessie Kramer 1-3 0-0 2, Kristin Kramer 3-12 5-6 13, Dani Peyton 3-10 7-10 15, Alyssa Jones 4-7 1-2 9, Miacela Combs 2-4 3-4 8, Beth Knapp 0-2 0-0 0, Paige Perkins 0-3 0-0 0, Allison Scott 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 13-42 18-24 49.

C.R. KENNEDY (50): Olivia Meier 1-10 1-2 3, Courtney Strait 8-15 1-2 19, Kassi Nunnikhoven 0-7 1-2 1, Shauna Happel 1-4 2-5 4, Kali Hildebrand 3-5 0-0 7, Kristen Huebsch 1-1 0-0 2, Kaylese Johnson 0-2 0-0 0, Mariah Simmons 4-9 3-3 11, Val Ross 1-1 1-2 3, Kim Muench 0-1 0-0 0, Dominique Wright 0-1 0-0 0, Ashley Schlueter 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-56 9-16 50. 

Halftime: Marion 25, Kennedy 19.

3-point goals: Marion 5-16 (Knapp 0-1, K.Kramer 2-7, Peyton 2-6, Combs 1-2), Kennedy 3-21 (Meier 0-3, Strait 2-9, Nunnikhoven 0-2, Hildebrand 1-3, Johnson 0-2, Simmons 0-1).

Team fouls: Marion 15, Kennedy 18.

Fouled out: none.

Rebounds: Marion 39 (J.Kramer 11), Marion 34 (Strait 12).

Assists: Marion 5 (Smith, J.Kramer 2), Kennedy 7 (Nunnikhoven 2).

Steals: Marion 8 (K.Kramer 3), Kennedy 10 (Strait 3).

Turnovers: Marion 16, Kennedy 11.