Newell-Fonda crashes both the boards and North Linn’s girls’ state basketball title dreams

DES MOINES — It wasn’t the press that led to North Linn’s tournament demise.

It was the boards.

Second-ranked Newell-Fonda was relentless on the glass, grabbing 17 offensive rebounds — which led to a prohibitive advantage in second-chance points. The Mustangs pulled away in the last 14 minutes in a 66-48 Class 1A semifinal triumph at the girls’ state basketball tournament Friday afternoon at Wells Fargo Arena.

“Obviously, they’re a really good team,” North Linn’s Kamryn Kurt said. “They took us out of everything we’ve done all year, and good teams are going to do that.”

And Newell-Fonda is a very good team, every single year. The Mustangs (24-2) advanced to the championship game for the 11th time, all in the last 27 years.

They’ll aim for their fifth title at 7 p.m. Saturday, against No. 1 Algona Garrigan (25-1).

“I’m very blessed,” said senior Mary Walker, who — along with junior Kierra Jungers — were a two-girl wrecking crew. “Blessed by our community, by our school.

“This was a rough and scrappy game. We stuck to our game plan.”

And that was ... ?

“We had to crash the boards,” Jungers said. “We had to go get the ball.”

Newell-Fonda outrebounded the Lynx (23-2) by a 40-23 margin and enjoyed a lethal 21-2 advantage in second-chance points.

“Our defensive glass, that’s where they got us,” North Linn Coach Brian Wheatley said. “They have so many good athletes. They’re relentless.”

Macy Boge said, “We knew rebounding was going to be a big factor. They just beat us.”

The game was tied, 28-28, at halftime, and a transition basket by Kurt put the Lynx in front, 33-30, with 6:40 left in the third quarter.

Newell-Fonda controlled action the rest of the way. The Mustangs led 44-37 by the end of the quarter, and pulled away steadily in the late stages.

If you’d told Wheatley the Lynx would commit 14 turnovers Friday, he’d have gladly accepted.

“Yeah, for sure,” he said. “We did a good job handling the ball.”

But, oh, those rebounds.

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Photos: North Linn vs. Newell-Fonda in 2023 Iowa Class 1A girls’ state basketball semifinals

The teams traded jabs in the first half. Newell-Fonda led 20-15 after a quarter, then the Lynx scored the first nine points of the second period for a 24-20 advantage.

The Mustangs scored eight in a row to go up four, then Kurt’s 3-pointer tied it at 28 at intermission.

Kurt led the Lynx with 16 points. Ellie Flanagan was 5 of 7 from long range and scored 15. Macy Boge added 11.

“I knew this was going to be one of my last games, so I went out and gave it my all,” Flanagan said.

Don’t be surprised if these teams meet again, at some level, here again next March.

“It’s tough to see our seniors go,” Wheatley said. “It was a tough locker room.

“But we’ve got a lot of pieces coming back. We’ve got to find a way to get a little better. Everybody has to improve just a little bit. If they do that, we can make a run next year.”

Newell-Fonda 66, North Linn 48

Class 1A State Semifinal, at Des Moines

NORTH LINN (48): Elise Ware 0-0 0-0 0, Macy Boge 4-12 1-1 11, Molly Boge 1-6 0-0 3, Kamryn Kurt 6-12 2-3 16, Ellie Flanagan 5-9 0-0 15, Meghan Wheatley 0-0 0-0 0, Skylar Benesh 0-1 0-0 0, Allie Haughenbury 0-0 0-0 0, Mackenzie Bridgewater 1-3 0-0 2, Emilee Beuter 0-2 1-2 1. Totals 17-45 4-6 48.

NEWELL-FONDA (66): Mary Walker 9-17 4-5 24, Mia Walker 2-5 1-1 5, McKenna Sievers 1-7 0-0 3, Laney Hogrefe 2-4 0-0 4, Kierra Jungers 7-13 2-3 19, Greta Larsen 0-0 0-0 0, Isabel Bartek 0-3 0-2 0, Anna Mercer 0-0 0-0 0, Emma Erickson 1-3 0-0 3, Kinzee Hinders 4-6 0-0 8. Totals 26-58 7-11 66.

North Linn 15 13 9 11 — 48

Newell-Fonda 20 8 16 22 — 66

3-point goals: North Linn 10-24 (Macy Boge 2-7, Molly Boge 1-5, Kurt 2-3 , Flanagan 5-7, Benesh 0-1, Bridgewater 0-1), Newell-Fonda 7-24 (Mary Walker 2-6, Mia Walker 0-3, Sievers 1-6, Jungers 3-5, Bartek 0-2, Erickson 1-2). Team fouls: North Linn 14, Newell-Fonda 8. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: North Linn 23 (Flanagan 5), Newell-Fonda 40 (Jungers 10). Assists: North Linn 12 (Macy Boge 4), Newell-Fonda 6 (Sievers 3). Steals: North Linn 10 (Molly Boge 3), Newell-Fonda 9 (Sievers 3). Turnovers: North Linn 14, Newell-Fonda 13.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com