VAN HORNE – North Linn’s swarming defense dominated from the start, and the Lynx will return to the state tournament after a 69-40 win over Montezuma in Thursday night’s Class 1A regional championship game.
The Bravettes had 10 of their 19 turnovers in the first quarter. A pair of three-balls by Jadyn Sharer held the Bravettes in during a 13-10 North Linn first quarter.
But things went downhill even faster in the second and third quarters, when the Bravettes made just 5 of 21 shot attempts.
North Linn outscored the Bravettes 25-8 in the second quarter to lead 38-18 at halftime.
“Yes, we definitely ran into a team that is very good,” said Bravettes Coach Janel Burgess. (The Montezuma coach had plenty to say – all of it good – about her own team in a story we’ll have in the next couple of days).
Sharer opened the third quarter with another trey to cut North Linn’s lead to 38-21.
But North Linn went on an 11-1 tear after that to push the lead out to 49-22, and take full control of the game.
Montezuma didn’t throw in the towel, though, and flashed some of its own defense in the second half.
North Linn forced Bravettes guard Mia Boulton to do a lot of heavy lifting in terms of breaking full court pressure. It may have thrown off the rhythm of Montezuma’s season scoring leader, who couldn’t buy a basket all night, and appeared worn down late in the game.
Boulton wound up with two free throws, which came with 2:11 left in the game.
Kamryn Kurt led North Linn (22-1) with 20 points. Macy Boge scored 13 and Molly Boge had 11.
North Linn shot well from the field and Montezuma did not, but the Lynx’ defense had something to do with the percentages of both teams. North Linn forced mistakes, and turned them into points, which has been the team’s formula all season.
Sharer finished with 14 points to lead the Bravettes, who closed a 21-4 season. Sharer had a great night shooting, going 5-for-5 from the field, including 3-for-3 from behind the arc.
Kallie Robison scored 8, as did Ellen Cook.
Claire Erselius scored 4 points, as did Shiressa Wetering.
When the Bravettes got to ball into scoring range, they fared well with their posts, who had a size advantage. Robison and Wetering were a combined 5-for-9, with 12 total points.
But Montezuma could not generate enough shots against North Linn’s defense. The Bravettes cast up 36 shots, compared to 57 by the Lynx. North Linn made 28, for 49 percent. For the Bravettes, it was 12-for-36, for just 33 percent.
Boulton led the Bravettes with 7 rebounds. She and her senior running make at guard, Madison Johannes, each had 3 assists, and did sophomore Ellen Cook.
COME BACK HERE LATER for photos. . . .An ice storm here in Wisconsin knocked out various internet services, including ours, for a time, so it took a longer than usual to gather data and assemble a story.
THE GAME WAS the last at Montezuma for seniors Madison Johannes, Kallie Robison and Mia Boulton, and for manager Abby Pope.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
North Linn 13 25 17 14 – 69
Montezuma 10 8 11 11 – 40
MONTEZUMA (40)
Madison Johannes 0-5, 0-0, 3, 0. Ellen Cook 2-6, 3-8, 0, 8. Izzy Roorda 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. Alivia Cline 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. Claire Erselius 1-3, 2-4, 0, 4. Mia Boulton 0-8, 2-2, 1, 2. Jadyn Sharer 4-5, 3-4, 2, 14. Jordan Ranfeld 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. Laila Kercheval 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. Harlea Pargeon 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. Ashlee Eilander 0-0, 0-0, 2, 0. Kallie Robison 3-5, 2-2, 0, 8. Shiressa Wetering 2-4, 0-0, 1, 4. TOTALS – 12-36, 12-20, 9, 40.
NORTH LINN (69)
TOTALS – 28-57, 6-10, 17, 69.
Line score legend: field goals made-attempted, personal fouls, total points.
Three-pointers: Montezuma 4-17 (Sharer 3-3, Cook 1-4, Erselius 0-2, Johannes 0-4, Boulton 0-4); North Linn – 7-21.
Turnovers: Montezuma 19, North Linn 9.
Rebounds: Montezuma 19 (Boulton 7, Cook 3, Johannes 3, Robison 3, Erselius 1, Wetering 1, Sharer 1); North Linn – 31.
Assists: Montezuma 2 (Cook 1, Sharer 1).
Deflections: Montezuma 1 (Sharer 1).