Kamryn Kurt, Boge sisters lead North Linn to Iowa state basketball title
In a battle between the Mustangs and the Lynx, it was only appropriate the Class 1A state final between Newell-Fonda and North Linn would be a high-paced affair in Wells Fargo Arena.
Ultimately, the Lynx out-ran the Mustangs, 67-51, with North Linn shooting an absurd 64% from the field en route to the school's second state title.
Senior guard Kamryn Kurt led the team with 23 points, seven assists and four steals on the night. She was complemented by the Boge sisters, Molly and Macy, who combined for 25 points. Macy Boge, a senior, combined with Kurt to have 40 points as the seniors capped off the special run for the Lynx.
"For them to go out like that, playing the best game of our season, the best of their (seniors) career against a team like Newell-Fonda is pretty special," coach Brian Wheatley said.
The Lynx trailed by four early in the first quarter but went on a 16-4 run to close the period to have a 19-11 lead. North Linn was clinical on offense following a slow start, ending the first eight minutes of action with a 54% shooting percentage from the floor and three-for-seven from deep. Molly Boge was key in that, scoring eight in the quarter with a pair of triples.
North Linn began to make things easier, turning defense into offense and running in transition off of defensive stops to get easy looks at the rim. They opened the quarter on an 8-0 run to lead 27-11 midway through the second quarter and never looked back. The Lynx shot 10-11 from the floor in the second quarter to improve their shooting percentage to a scorching 71% in the first half to take a 40-23 lead into the locker room at halftime. Perhaps even more impressively, North Linn had 11 assists on its 17 baskets in the half.
"That goes back to playing together so long," Wheatley said. "They have been playing together forever. (It's also) the unselfishness that our kids have. They are willing to see the open player and make that pass. Trust their teammate, nobody cares who is our leading scorer. We don't talk about any that stuff."
Newell-Fonda's man-to-man defense started to slow the bleeding in the third quarter, helping trim the deficit to 11 with 4:04 to go in the period. Still, the Lynx's offense could not be slowed, ending the third on an 11-4 run to hold a dominant 56-38 lead leading into the final eight minutes before closing out the game.
This was North Linn's third appearance in the state finals under Wheatley and the school's second state title, which also came during Wheatley's tenure. This is the Lynx's first state title in Class 1A with its last championship coming in 2020 while in Class 2A.
Eli McKown covers high school sports and wrestling for the Des Moines Register. Contact him at Emckown@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @EMcKown23.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: North Linn wins Iowa state girls basketball title over Newll-Fonda
