Unity Christian denies North-Linn, 69-40

DES MOINES — North-Linn had to slay two giants in two days. And it was too much to ask.

The third-ranked Lynx caught a great team on a great night, and fell to No. 1 Unity Christian, 69-40, in the Class 2A final at the girls' state basketball tournament Friday night at Wells Fargo Arena.

'They couldn't miss, and we made them look good, too,' said Nicole Miller, who scored 22 points and was named the all-tournament captain. 'I think (Thursday's overtime win over three-time defending champion Western Christian) took more out of us than we thought.'

Unity earned its first girls' basketball title and completed a 27-0 season after finishing second in Class 3A last year.

'It's something I can't explain,' said Unity's Chanda Zomermaand. 'We're on Cloud Nine right now.'

Unity jumped on the Lynx (25-2) from the start, scoring the first five points and building a 20-6 lead by the end of the first quarter. The Lynx couldn't recover.

'They were really hot from 3-point range,' said North-Linn's Morgan Boer, who joined Miller on the all-tournament team. 'We couldn't get out on them fast enough. And we tried to stay on (Anna Kiel) inside. She's a really good opponent.'

Kassidy DeJong scored 29 points and Kiel added 15. Those two hit 15 of 22 shots from the floor. Zomermaand tacked on 13 points.

'They're a really good team, and they played really well,' North-Linn Coach Brian Wheatley said. 'It's really hard right now — not that we lost the game, but because I'm upset I don't get to coach these nine seniors again. It's really difficult to say goodbye to them.'

North-Linn posted a 93-10 mark the past four years.

'It's been a lot of fun,' Miller said. 'We made some memories that I'll never forget. We came up short, but I'm really sad I don't get to play basketball with these girls again.'

Miller's final basket, a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter, moved her to No. 10 all-time in the state. The Drake recruit closes her career with 2,207 points.

'She's obviously a very good player,' Zomermaand said. 'We played her man-to-man with a lot of help in the first half, and she still had 17 points, so we had to try something else.'

North-Linn played the Knights even in the second quarter and went into the locker room down 38-24. There was still a glimmer of hope at 49-35 late in the third quarter, but Unity put on another run, 12 straight points to blow it open.

Unity shot 51 percent from the field (24 of 47) and enjoyed a 33-19 rebounding advantage.

Both of the Boer sisters added six points apiece for North-Linn.

Maddie Boer said she 'was kind of thinking' the Western win may have taken a toll.

'Coming in, I was hoping we hadn't used all of our energy,' she said. 'I'm so proud we made it this far. I'll never forget this experience.'

DeJong and Zomermaand joined Miller and Morgan Boer on the all-tournament unit, along with Jamie Gesink of Western Christian and Haley Birks of South Central Calhoun.

UNITY CHRISTIAN 69, NORTH-LINN 40 (Class 2A State Championship)

At Des Moines

NORTH-LINN (40): Maddie Boer 1-7 3-4 6, Kayla Carrothers 0-4 1-2 1, Nicole Miller 9-18 1-1 22, Brooke Dobney 0-1 0-0 0, Morgan Boer 3-6 0-0 6, Natalie Dudley 0-0 0-0 0, Jessica Rechkemmer 0-0 0-0 0, Taylor Bistline 0-1 0-0 0, Taylor Burke 0-0 0-0 0, Katie Kurt 1-5 0-0 3, Rachel Supple 0-0 0-0 0, Anna Legrand 0-0 0-0 0, Ashley Tull 1-1 0-0 2, Kristin Novotny 0-0 0-0 0, Jackie Falconer 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 15-43 5-7 40.

UNITY CHRISTIAN (69): Chanda Zomermaand 5-11 0-0 13, Alyssa Fedders 1-4 2-2 5, Kassidy DeJong 8-13 9-9 29, Anna Kiel 7-9 1-3 15, Heather Schouten 1-1 0-0 2, Tessa Schoonoven 0-1 0-0 0, Stephanie Westra 0-1 0-0 0, Justine Van Sloten 0-0 0-0 0, Jena Schouten 0-1 0-0 0, Deidra Noteboom 2-5 1-1 5, Josie Blankespoor 0-1 0-1 0, Allison Timmermans 0-0 0-0 0, Paige Visscher 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-47 13-16 69.

Halftime: Unity 38, North-Linn 24. 3-point goals: North-Linn 5-16 (Mad.Boer 1-3, Carrothers 0-2, Miller 3-6, Mor.Boer 0-1, Kurt 1-4), Unity 8-18 (Zomermaand 3-7, Fedders 1-2, DeJong 4-7, Westra 0-1, J.Schouten 0-1). Team fouls: North-Linn 16, Unity 15. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: North-Linn 19 (Mor.Boer 6), Unity 33 (Kiel 9). Assists: North-Linn 6 (Mad.Boer 5), Unity 13 (Fedders 5). Steals: North-Linn 9 (Mad.Boer 3), Unity 10 (DeJong 4). Turnovers: North-Linn 13, Unity 12.

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