North Linn has been known through the years for its productive offense.
But the Lynx can grind out a win when the occasion demands and they did just that against Gladbrook-Reinbeck to stay in the running for a second straight Class 1A championship.
Emilee Beuter converted a key three-point play to give the Lynx a little breathing room midway through the fourth quarter and they held on to beat a determined Gladbrook-Reinbeck team 33-29 to move on to the semifinals.
The 33 points were a season low for North Linn, which averages 65 a game, and the fewest a North Linn team has scored since a 46-32 loss to Springville on Feb. 15, 2016.
But those points proved to be just enough to send the second-seeded Lynx (24-1) into the next round at 3:15 p.m. on Friday.
North Linn survived its 31 percent shooting by holding Gladbrook-Reinbeck to 28 percent and outrebounding the Rebels 37-27. The Lynx earned an 11-7 edge in points off turnovers, which proved to be the difference in the game.
Molly Boge had 15 points, four assists and four steals to lead North Linn. Beuter added eight points and 12 rebounds and Mackenzie Bridgewater scored six for the Lynx.
Kennedy Brant led seventh-seeded Gladbrook-Reinbeck (21-4) with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Elly Sieh scored eight to go with four assists and three steals.
The lead changed hands five times before North Linn pulled ahead 25-20 when Boge connected on a jumper in the lane late in the third quarter.
Gladbrook-Reinbeck trimmed the lead to 25-24 early in the fourth quarter and it stayed that way until Beuter, a 5-foot-10 senior, got the ball on the low block. She went up between two defenders, made the shot as she was fouled and sank the free throw to make it 28-24 with 4:25 left.
It was just the cushion the Lynx needed. The Rebels drew to 30-29 on Dylan Mathern’s free throw with 1:53 to play but did not score again, missing two shots and then failing to get the rebound after Boge misfired on a free throw with 8.4 seconds remaining. They had to foul again and Boge made both free throws to finish it off.
Gladbrook-Reinbeck’s state tourney appearance, just the second in school history, marked the program’s continued improvement. Only two years ago, the Rebels went 12-11 to end a string of seven straight losing seasons.
