Rivalry Saturday 2024: North Linn 52, Riceville 51

CEDAR RAPIDS — When the moment of reckoning arrived, North Linn had kids who had been here before.

Winners that made enough winning plays down the stretch.

Down by three points with less than two minutes to play, the Class 1A second-ranked Lynx edged No. 4 Riceville, 52-51, at Rivalry Saturday at Johnson Hall.

“We stepped up big when we needed to,” Molly Boge said after the Lynx (2-0) stretched their winning streak to 27 games; their last defeat was at last year’s Rivalry Saturday, to Clear Creek Amana.

“Even when it’s not the prettiest, we’re going to compete hard.”

True, North Linn lost its two big guns (Kamryn Kurt and Macy Boge) to graduation after the 2024 1A state championship. But three starters are back, and those three — Molly Boge (20 points), Allie Haughenbury (14) and Mackenzie Bridgewater (eight) — combined for 42 of the 52 points.

“Maybe it wasn’t the prettiest, but Riceville took us out of some of the stuff we wanted to do. We’ve got four seniors that have played in a lot of big games for us. We made enough plays to get it done.”

Bridgewater’s 3-pointer with about 1:20 left put North Linn in front for good, 48-47. After the Lynx got a stop, Haughenbury nailed to free throws to make it 50-47. Boge hit two free throws at the 0:17 mark to extend the lead to 52-49.

Samantha Wilberding led Riceville with 14 points. Kylie Dvorak added 12.

“We figured they were a top-five, maybe top-three team,” Wheatley said of the Wildcats. “I think this proves we’ve still got some kids that are playing their tails off.”

North Linn has played three one-point games, plus an overtime contest, in its last five Rivalry Saturday appearances. The Lynx are 2-2 in those thrillers.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com