Linn-Mar hammers Washington, 62-28

MARION - They didn't want it to end.

Saturday's practice. The season in general.

The eighth-ranked Linn-Mar Lions played with purpose and put Cedar Rapids Washington away quickly and decisively, 62-28, in a Class 5A girls' basketball regional semifinal Saturday night at Linn-Mar High School.

'Our chemistry is really on point right now,” Lions Coach Jaime Printy Brandt said after the Lions (16-7) won their sixth straight game. 'The kids share the ball and don't care who gets the point.”

How tight has this team become? They literally couldn't get away from each other after Saturday's morning shootaround.

'Nobody wanted to leave. It's not like we were goofing off,” said junior Amanda Ollinger. 'We had a team breakfast. We wanted to hang out and stick together.”

Then, the Lions hung out and stuck it to the Warriors (13-9) in a game that wasn't competitive after the first four minutes.

Ollinger drained three 3-pointers in the first quarter, and Olivia Montague ended it was one of her own as the Lions blazed to a 22-9 lead. It was 35-14 at halftime, 52-17 after three quarters.

Linn-Mar advances to play at No. 6 Southeast Polk at 7 p.m. Monday in what ought to be one of the better 5A regional finals in the state. The Rams (16-6) beat Cedar Rapids Jefferson, 52-35, Saturday.

When the Lions faced Washington in the regular season, they had to squeeze out a 41-39 victory.

'We needed to be effective with our press, and we just didn't have enough baskets to put the press into place,” said Washington Coach Frank Howell.

Ollinger collected 14 points and 10 rebounds to lead the winners. Kamryn Finley added 13 points, Montague 11.

'We knew they would come out strong,” said Finley, who picked up four assists and four steals. 'But we were focused. Coach P said to limit our turnovers and come to the ball.”

Joniqua Clark paced Washington with seven points.

LINN-MAR 62, CEDAR RAPIDS WASHINGTON 28 (Class 5A Regional Semifinal)

At Linn-Mar

CEDAR RAPIDS WASHINGTON (28): Joniqua Clark 2-6 3-3 7, Allie Semrau 0-5 0-0 0, Anne Visser 2-8 0-1 4, Courtney Squires 1-3 0-0 2, Kandis O'Donnell 3-5 1-3 7, Payton Bruner 0-0 0-0 0, Jessi Puk 0-6 0-0 0, Jayla Johnson 0-0 0-0 0, Daris Corey 0-4 1-2 1, Brittany Hoeger 0-0 0-0 0, Lily Hartman 0-0 0-0 0, Emily Oler 0-0 4-4 4, Alanna Arrington 1-1 0-0 3, Melanie Hoeger 0-0 0-0 0, Brittany Cullen 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 9-38 9-13 28.

LINN-MAR (62): Brittney Lancial 0-3 0-0 0, Olivia Montague 4-7 1-1 11, Niki Sharma 2-7 0-2 4, Kamryn Finley 3-6 7-7 13, Amanda Ollinger 5-12 1-2 14, Lexi Frese 1-5 1-2 3, Claire Larson 1-1 5-6 8, Megan Murphy 1-2 0-0 3, Lannie Nietert 1-1 1-1 3, Alie Akers 0-0 1-2 1, Natalie Ross 0-1 0-0 0, Rachel Fensterman 0-0 0-0 0, Lauren Swanson 0-0 0-0 0, Allie Noggle 0-0 2-2 2, Nicole Glanz 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-45 19-25 62.

Halftime: Linn-Mar 35, Washington 14. 3-point goals: Washington 1-17 (Clark 0-3, Semrau 0-4, Visser 0-4, Puk 0-4, Corey 0-1, Arrington 1-1), Linn-Mar 7-19 (Lancial 0-2, Montague 2-5, Sharma 0-1, Finley 0-2, Ollinger 3-5, Larson 1-1, Murphy 1-2, Ross 0-1). Team fouls: Washington 24, Linn-Mar 13. Fouled out: Nietert. Rebounds: Washington 23 (Visser 6), Linn-Mar 37 (Ollinger 10). Assists: Washington 3 (three with 1), Linn-Mar 13 (Lancial, Finley 4). Steals: Washington 5 (five with 1), Linn-Mar 12 (Finley 4). Turnovers: Washington 18, Linn-Mar 12.

l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com