Unity Christian fell one step short
of winning a state championship a year ago.
Given a second chance in the finals,
the Knights finished the job.
Kassidy De
Jong scored 29 points and top-ranked Unity Christian dominated from the start
in beating No. 7 North Linn 69-40 to win the Class 2A title in convincing
fashion.
Anna Kiel added 15 points and eight
rebounds and Chanda Zomermaand
scored 13 for the top-ranked Knights (27-0), who won their first state title in
girls basketball after finishing as the Class 3A runners-up last year.
North Linn (25-2) had upset
three-time defending champion Western Christian in the semifinals, but the Lynx
couldn't keep up with a skilled Unity Christian team that had both good
athletes and good shooters.
Drake University recruit and
all-tournament captain Nicole Miller scored North Linn's first 14 points and
finished with 22. Maddie Boer and Morgan Boer each
scored six points for the Lynx, who reached the championship game for the first
time.
Unity Christian shot 52 percent and
showed off all facets of its game. The Knights scored off steals, in
transition, on putbacks and from long range.
Zomermaand
knocked down three 3-pointers in the first half and the Knights finished
8-for-17 from long range.
Miller did what she could to try to
keep North Linn in it, scoring consistently on drives
to the basket and hitting three 3-pointers. It just wasn't enough.
Down 38-24 at halftime, North Linn
managed to cut the lead to 47-34 on Katie Kurt's 3-pointer. But the Lynx got no
closer. Unity Christian went inside to Kiel for a basket and the Knights were
off and running again, putting together a 14-1 run that stretched the lead to
61-35 and ended any North Linn hopes of a combeback.
Zomermaand
finished with 12 3-pointers in the tournament to match the record that
Springville's Sarah Matus set in 1A play. The
previous record had been 11.