Dreya Kern’s 28-point effort helps lead Linn-Mar past Marion, 46-42

MARION – After two decisive losses to start the season, there was no quick, magical fix.

“It wasn’t a matter of solving problems,” Linn-Mar junior Dreya Kern said. “We just needed to make our problems better.”

One of the slights is a lack of size (the Lions’ starting five averages 5 feet, 6 1/2 inches). And miraculous physical growth, at this stage, isn’t going to happen.

Attitude and effort, though …

“In terms of those two things, this was by far our best 32 minutes,” Lions Coach Chad Tompkins said.

And this was the Lions’ first victory of the season, a 46-42 triumph over Marion in a non-conference girls’ basketball game Tuesday night at Marion High School.

Kern scored a career-high 28 points, hitting 10 of 15 shots from the floor (9 of 11 inside the 3-point arc) and 7 of 10 from the free-throw line.

“Dreya was great tonight,” Tompkins said. “She’s got that ability.”

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“Sometimes I don’t stand out because of my height,” said Kern, who is listed at 5-foot-6. “I’m definitely a midrange person, and I need to be more of a leader this year.”

The Lions (1-2) suffered defeats to Cedar Falls and Bettendorf last week by a combined 65 points. They trailed 21-14 early in the second quarter Tuesday before flipping everything with a 13-0 run in the final 7:00 of the half.

Linn-Mar’s largest lead was 41-28 late in the third quarter, thanks in part to a pair of old-school three-point plays by Kern, then the Lions held off a mild Marion run at the end.

Hannah Thierer added 10 points for the Lions. Emerson McCormick posted six points and seven rebounds.

Harlow Griffin paced Marion (1-1) with 12 points. Madeline Pavelka added 11 points and nine rebounds. Freshman Kendyl Aarhus tallied 10 points.

The Wolves committed 21 turnovers, including five Kern steals.

Linn-Mar 46, Marion 42

At Marion

LINN-MAR (46): Maddy Blandford 0-4 0-0 0, Emerson McCormick 3-9 0-1 6, Harleigh Titus 0-1 0-0 0, Hannah Thierer 2-8 5-7 10, Dreya Kern 10-15 7-10 28, Emma Dirks 0-2 0-0 0, Maya Seim 1-7 0-0 2, Anna Buchholz 0-0 0-0 0, Madi Wedo 0-1 0-0 0, Reggan Borchers 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-47 12-18 46.

MARION (42): Kendyl Aarhus 3-6 2-3 10, Grace Whalen 1-2 1-2 3, Braelin Wieseler 0-0 0-0 0, Harlow Griffin 3-12 4-5 12, Madeline Pavelka 4-11 3-3 11, Ellie Morris 2-12 0-0 6. Totals 13-43 10-13 42.

Linn-Mar 14 13 14 5 — 46

Marion 16 5 10 11 — 42

3-point goals: Linn-Mar 2-17 (Blandford 0-3, Thierer 1-6, Kern 1-4, Dirks 0-1, Seim 0-3), Marion 6-20 (Aarhus 2-4, Whalen 0-1, Griffin 2-4, Pavelka 0-2, Morris 2-9). Team fouls: Linn-Mar 17, Marion 19. Fouled out: Whalen. Rebounds: Linn-Mar 31 (McCormick 7), Marion 33 (Pavelka 9). Assists: Linn-Mar 6 (Titus 2), Marion 7 (Wieseler 2). Steals: Linn-Mar 12 (Kern 5), Marion 5 (Whalen 2). Turnovers: Linn-Mar 12, Marion 21.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com