AMES 45, LINN-MAR 39 (OT)
The biggest shot of Cheyenne Pritchard's brief high school
career helped put Ames in the state championship game.
Pritchard, a freshman, hit a 3-pointer at the start of
overtime to give Ames the lead and the fourth-ranked Little Cyclones held it the
rest of the way in beating No. 1 and previously undefeated Linn-Mar 45-39
Friday in the Class 4A semifinals.
Ames overcame 28 percent shooting to reach the title
game for the first time in school history. The Little Cyclones are now 23-2 and
will play No. 2 Sioux City North for the championship at 8 p.m. Saturday.
Pritchard's big 3 gave Ames a 39-36 lead and the
Little Cyclones finished it off by making six straight free throws in the final
minute. Pritchard sank two in that stretch and junior Kionna Kellogg made the
four others. The Little Cyclones got the game into overtime when Trisha Nesbitt
scored on a driving lineup with 2 seconds left in regulation, tying the score
at 36.
Pritchard and Ellen Hansen led Ames with 11 points
each, with Pritchard getting all of her points at crunch time. She got her
first basket on a drive at the end of the third quarter, then hit a 3 at the
start of the fourth quarter to get Ames to within a point.
Ames took its first lead at 33-32 on Hansen's
3-pointer with 2:48 left. Linn-Mar led 36-34 after Jaime Printy made one of two
free throws with 13.5 seconds remaining. The Cyclones then rushed the ball up
the floor and Nesbitt took it to the basket and scored.
Nesbitt and Printy will be teammates at the University
of Iowa next season. Nesbitt finished with eight points and Printy scored 10.
Sophomore Kia Stokes, who's getting looks from numerous Division I schools, led
Linn-Mar with 16 points and 11 rebounds. She also blocked six shots, giving her
14 for the tournament. That ties for the seventh-highest figure in a state
tournament.
Kellogg finished with eight points, 11 rebounds, three
assists and two steals for Ames.
Linn-Mar, which had been ranked No. 1 all season and
rarely was challenged, finished 24-1.