Second ranked Linn-Mar survived an upset bid by tenth ranked Ankeny for a 48-47 win. Linn-Mar coach Mike Brandt says he told his team that happens a lot at the state tournament, and he says Ankeny is a great team. A layup with 21 seconds remaining by Kiah Stokes proved to be the game winner as the Lions earned a hard fought win.

Brandt says he was proud they kept their composure through everything, as it was a physical game and they had to step up and be physical and they did and that was the difference in the ballgame. The Lions survived a wild finish which saw Ankeny standout Maddie Manning missed three shots in the final nine seconds and it appeared she may have been fouled by Stokes on the final attempt.

Manning says,”There was not doubt there was contact, but I mean, they called that at the beginning of the game and then they just didn’t call it. You can’t control that. But at the same time it’s hard to take like that.”

Ankeny coach Scott DeJong was furious with the no call but refused to comment on the officiating after the game. DeJong says he couldn’t be prouder of this team than any he has coached, including six championship teams. He says the kept battling back. “We had three or four shots at the end and kept getting the rebound and fighting. You know there was a lot of contact, seems like,” DeJong said.

Manning finshed with 16 points for Ankeny. Stokes had 18 points and 11 rebounds to pace the Lions.