Linn-Mar, Washington make Siouxland trip -- together

CEDAR RAPIDS -- Two teams, one bus.

Metro girls' basketball giants Linn-Mar and Cedar Rapids Washington will be in close quarters on a road trip that begins Friday morning.

Destination: Sioux City.

"It makes sense to split the cost of a chartered bus," said Washington Coach Frank Howell.

The Lions (5-0) and the Warriors (4-0) are ranked third and sixth, respectively, in Class 4A. Friday at Sioux City North, Linn-Mar will face Sioux City Heelan (4-1) in a game featuring the defending 4A and 3A state champions at 6 p.m., with Washington facing North (4-0) at 8.

Saturday afternoon at Heelan, Linn-Mar meets North and Washington plays Heelan. Game times are 1 and 3.

"One thing, I've tried to get our non-conference schedule as tough as I could get it," Howell said. "This helps accomplish that goal."

Both teams will be getting two challenging games.

"They both bring different dimensions," said Linn-Mar Coach Mike Brandt, whose team takes a 31-game win streak to Northwest Iowa. "North is a guard-oriented team that can get up and down the floor. Heelan still has a couple of nice post players.

Linn-Mar's Kiah Stokes is averaging 26.6 points per game, including a school-record 39 against Cedar Rapids Jefferson on Tuesday.

The Lions and the Warriors play twice after Christmas, but Howell probably won't do much advance scouting this weekend.

"I'll probably be too nervous about our games that night that I won't be able to," he said.

Tama County turnarounds

Three years ago, North Tama and South Tama compiled matching one-win seasons.

Their upward climbs have been steady and simultaneous.

South Tama (5-0 overall, 1-0 Little Hawkeye Conference) has won all of its games by double digits, including a 63-30 league-opening victory at Newton on Tuesday. The same night, North Tama improved to 4-0 in all games, 3-0 in the Iowa Star Conference by prevailing at Garwin GMG, 51-34.

Both teams are young.

South Tama has only one senior, and the top five scorers are underclassmen. Junior Madison Baier, a 6-foot-4 center, averages 12 points and 9.2 rebounds per game. The Trojans are a balanced bunch, with the top five scorers averaging between 6.2 and 12 points.

North Tama is led by junior Kailey Kladivo (19 ppg) and sophomore Allison Zobel (11 ppg). The Redhawks are allowing 30.5 points per game.

Rivalry Saturday update

Unless a late addition is made, the seventh installment of Rivalry Saturday will be a five-game event.

The previous six versions had six games apiece.

This year's event is scheduled for Jan. 22 at the U.S. Cellular Center. It is highlighted by a game between Linn-Mar and Ballard, a contest that will feature Stokes and Ballard senior Taylor Greenfield, who has signed with Stanford.

Other matchups are Mount Vernon and Williamsburg, Cedar Rapids Washington and DeWitt Central, Maquoketa Valley and Edgewood-Colesburg, and Benton Community and Vinton-Shellsburg.