The Linn Lady Wildcats may have come up one game short of winning the title in the Calvary Lutheran Tournament, but the weekend was about more than that.
The Lady Wildcats won their first two games by a combined five points before coming up just short in the title game, falling 41-35 to Lutheran: Kansas City.
"I'm just very thankful for how well the girls played," Linn coach Laura Kruger said. "It took a lot of heart, especially in that last game, because they fought tooth and nail to win those first two games."
Linn beat Metro East Lutheran 43-41 on Friday before beating Calvary Lutheran 47-44 on Saturday morning in the semifinals. The Lady Wildcats then had to prepare for the Lady Knights, who outscored Linn by six after the first quarter ended tied at 11.
"We played excellent," Kruger said. "We played awesome."
The Lady Knights outscored the Lady Wildcats 8-7 in the second quarter to lead 19-18 at halftime. Lutheran: Kansas City had an 8-5 edge in a low-scoring third quarter to go up 27-23.
Linn's comeback was hampered by a 2-of-11 effort from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter. The Lady Wildcats made just 3-of-18 free throws (17 percent) in the game, which may have been due to playing three games in 24 hours.
Megan Thoenen, Kirsten Steinbeck and Lindsey Lebel paced Linn (3-6) with seven points apiece.
III
Calvary Lutheran bounced back from its semifinal loss to Linn to capture the third-place game by a 38-32 score against Chamois.
Calvary was down 8-5 after one quarter, but managed to tie it at 14 by halftime. The Lady Lions took a 27-25 lead into the final quarter.
Brooke Rollins dropped in 16 points to pace the Calvary offense. Sam Gunn pulled down nine rebounds, while Rollins added eight.
In the loss to Linn, Calvary trailed 7-6 after one quarter before coming back to lead 19-17 at halftime and 33-29 after three periods. But Linn used an 18-11 scoring edge in the final quarter to pull out the win.
Rebecca Thompson led Calvary with 17 points, while Gunn racked up 10 points, 10 rebounds and three steals. Abby Girard also had 10 rebounds for the Lady Lions.
Calvary (7-7) started the event Friday with a 47-15 win against The Fulton School at St. Albans.
Gunn had another double-double in that game, racking up 10 points and 14 rebounds.