A first half worthy of a clinic propelled North Linn to the final championship of the 2024 state tournament.
North Linn shot 71 percent in the opening half with an impressive display of running the court and passing and went on to beat state tournament veteran Newell-Fonda 67-51 for the Class 1A state title.
It’s the second championship for the school, which won the Class 2A crown in 2020. Newell-Fonda, a four-time state champion playing a record 12th title game, stayed with the Lynx in the second half but simply had too much ground to make up.
Kamryn Kurt led North Linn with 23 points, all-tournament captain Macy Boge scored 17 and Molly Boge had eight.
Kurt made 9-of-13 shots, handed out seven assists, made four steals and grabbed three rebounds. Macy Boge went 7-for-11 from the field with two 3-pointers and added three rebounds and three steals.
Kierra Jungers led Newell-Fonda with 17 points, Kinzee Hinders scored 16 and McKenna Sievers added 15 points, five assists and three steals. She also knocked down three 3-pointers.
North Linn was at its best in the second quarter, outrunning the Mustangs down the floor for one layup after another. The Lynx went 10-for-11 in the quarter and made their last eight shots in building a 40-23 halftime lead.
After struggling through a tough shooting first half – 7-for-23 – Newell-Fonda started finding the range and sliced the lead to 45-34 when Jungers banked in a layup and hit a short jumper in the lane.
Macy Boge then hit a 3 to start a 7-0 run that ended the Mustangs’ hopes of getting back into it.
North Linn finished the game at 64.3 percent, had a huge 40-22 edge in points in the paint and logged assists on 15 of its 27 baskets. Newell-Fonda shot 61 percent (11-for-18) over the final two quarters to finish at 44 percent for the game.
Both teams thrived all season on pressing, trapping defense that produced turnovers and led to breakaway layups and other easy baskets. Both did a decent job handling the other’s defense in this one, North Linn ending up with a 14-10 edge in points off turnovers.
Also on the all-tournament team were Kurt, Molly Boge, Sievers, Jungers and Council Bluffs St. Albert’s Ava Underwood.
North Linn finished off its 14th straight season with at least 20 victories with a 26-1 record, the lone loss coming to Class 4A champion Clear Creek-Amana. Newell-Fonda, in the tournament for the seventh straight year, finished 23-3.