Iowa City high held off a second half rally by Linn-Mar and earned its first trip to the championship game. Kelly Krei scored 27 points, including 12-of-15 from the foul line as the Little Hawks downed the Lions 55-39. Krei says they knew at halftime that Linn-Mar would make a run at some point, and they did and they held them off.

Krei talks about advancing to the title game says her school has never made it this far, and it feels good to beat a great team like Linn-Mar. City high led by 12 at the half before the Lions roared back by outscoring the Little Hawks 13-5 in the third quarter. But City High never relinquished the lead and put the game away at the foul line by making 23 of 31.

Linn-Mar coach Mike Brandt says some of the shots that could have made a difference didn’t fall. He credits City High with doing a great job on defense and making it hard to shoot. Jaye Hutcheson led Linn-Mar with 14 points but the Lions struggled from the field by hitting only 24 percent for the game.