Another February, another run to girls’ state basketball tournament for North Linn

MANCHESTER — The North Linn Lynx didn’t buy into the myth.

You know, it’s hard to beat a team three times in a season, blah, blah, blah.

“We didn’t have to beat them three times tonight,” senior Chloe Van Etten said. “We just had to beat them once.”

Hot shooting and a clever defensive move made it happen.

Led by Macy Boge, the sixth-ranked Lynx converted 60 percent of their field-goal tries and pulled away from No. 14 East Buchanan, 62-41, in a Class 1A girls’ basketball regional final in front of a crowd of 925 Wednesday night at West Delaware High School.

“I can’t thank my teammates enough,” said Boge, who hit 10 of 12 shots from the field in a 26-point performance. “Finishing around the rim, I’ve been working on that a lot in practice.”

The Lynx (22-2) handled three straight Tri-Rivers Conference foes in the regional run, and advance to state for the third straight year.

They will play another league rival — No. 3 Springville (23-1) — in a 1A quarterfinal at 6:45 Wednesday night at Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines.

North Linn and Springville traded road wins in the regular season.

“Just a lot of proud thoughts,” Lynx Coach Brian Wheatley said. “East Buchanan is a heck of a team, and I knew it would be a great battle.”

For 2 1/2 quarters, it was. The Buccaneers (19-6) never led, but were hanging around at 32-28 when Lauren Donlea scored at the 6:20 mark of the third period. But the Lynx pulled away steadily from there.

North Linn ruled the final period by a 19-5 margin.

“It seemed like we had answers for them for 2 1/2 quarters, but then they started to make that run,” East Buchanan Coach Nathan Reck said. “We stayed within striking distance for much of the game, but we couldn’t get over the hump.

“This was the greatest season in East Buchanan history. This is nothing to hang our heads about.”

Shooting accuracy — 60 percent (21 of 35) for the Lynx, 30 percent (15 of 50) for the Bucs — was Wednesday’s tale. The Lynx employed what they called “a fake triangle-and-two” and held Donlea, the Bucs’ heartbeat, to 11 points, one in the first half.

“We worked really hard to deny her the ball,” Van Etten said.

North Linn’s hot shooting extended behind the arc, where it hit 6 of 9 attempts.

Kamryn Kurt added 11 points for the Lynx. Ellie Flanagan tallied eight. Van Etten had a modest four, but contributed eight rebounds and five assists.

Eden Brady came off the bench to match Donlea with 11 points. Averiel Brady added nine points and six rebounds.

North Linn defeated its archrival to the north by verdicts of 60-49 and 52-49 during the regular season. This year’s trifecta extended the Lynx’s win streak over East Buchanan to 34, dating back to 2005.

North Linn 62, East Buchanan 41

Class 1A Regional Final, at Manchester

EAST BUCHANAN (41): Lacy Anderegg 0-3 0-0 0, Lauren Donlea 3-15 5-6 11, Laynee Hogan 1-5 0-4 2, Lara Fox 1-4 0-0 3, Averiel Brady 4-11 0-0 9, Eden Brady 4-7 1-3 11, Kyara Pals 2-5 1-1 5, Jaeden Hellenthal 0-0 0-0 0, Ebbie Sweet 0-0 0-0 0, Grace Long 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 15-50 7-14 41.

NORTH LINN (62): Chloe Van Etten 2-5 0-0 4, Macy Boge 10-12 6-7 26, Molly Boge 2-3 0-0 6, Kamryn Kurt 3-5 3-5 11, Ellie Flanagan 2-3 2-2 8, Ella Ries 1-2 0-0 2, Elise Ware 1-2 2-2 4, Skylar Benesh 0-2 1-2 1, Allie Haughenbury 0-1 0-0 0, Meghan Wheatley 0-0 0-0 0, Caitlin Benesh 0-0 0-0 0, Kenzie Bridgewater 0-0 0-0 0, Teagan Liebe 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-35 14-18 62.

East Buchanan 9 13 14 5 — 41

North Linn 13 15 15 19 — 62

3-point goals: East Buchanan 4-17 (Anderegg 0-3, Donlea 0-5, Hogan 0-1, Fox 1-3, A. Brady 1-2, E. Brady 2-3), North Linn 6-9 (Macy Boge 0-1, Molly Boge 2-2, Kurt 2-3, Flanagan 2-2, S. Benesh 0-1). Team fouls: East Buchanan 17, North Linn 17. Rebounds: East Buchanan 24 (A. Brady 6), North Linn 32 (Van Etten 8). Assists: East Buchanan 6 (Donlea 2), North Linn 12 (Van Etten 5). Steals: East Buchanan 8 (A. Brady 3), North Linn 5 (Kurt 2). Turnovers: East Buchanan 6, North Linn 10.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com