Linn battled but couldn’t get over the hump on Saturday at the South Callaway tournament in a 48-36 loss to Hermann.

“We came out flat and never could get into any kind of rhythm,” said Coach Ryan Rost. “Shots weren’t falling, and we were too stagnant on offense and defense.”

Linn trailed 14-6 early in the third, but All-Tournament selection Aushara Hostetler hit back-to-back three-pointers to cut the lead to 17-16 with just over five minutes to play.

Autumn Baker scored her only basket of the game at 4:35 to give the Lady Cats their first lead at 18-17.

However, Hermann surged the rest of the quarter, and at halftime, Linn trailed 29-21.

Linn faced a 44-28 deficit at the start of the fourth quarter, and neither team scored until the 3:45 mark.

The Lady Wildcats forced a five-second violation and then got another three from A. Hostetler.

Momentum shifted, and Linn scored seven unanswered points to cut the lead to 44-35 with 2:32 to play.

Free throws at the end of the game provided the final difference in the score.

Vivien Baker added nine points to the tally, and Marly Houston posted four as Hannah Hackmann hit a trey for her three points. All-Tournament selection Kiana Hostetler finished with two, and Emma Monnette added one.

K. Hostetler led with four assists as A. Baker added three, and Houston posted one.

On the glass, A. Baker’s seven rebounds were tops as V. Baker added five, followed by K. Hostetler, A. Hostetler, Hackmann, and Monnette, each with two, and Houston with one.

A. Baker had the team’s only block, while Houston, V. Baker, and A. Hostetler counted a steal apiece.

“We will have to regroup and bounce back next week,” said Rost. “We are getting there as a team; we just need to find a little more consistency in our play. Overall, it wasn’t the week we envisioned.

In a rematch against Fatima on Wednesday and despite a 60-56 loss, Rost is pleased with the girls’ effort.

“It was good for our girls to get redemption after our first meeting,” said Rost. “We jumped on them early and played well for the entirety of the game.”

Linn hit hard fast, jumping to a 13-1 lead to start the game, but Fatima recovered, and the first quarter ended with the Lady Cats in possession of a 20-15 lead.

After an 11-10 second quarter, Linn led 31-25, but the third was a different story as Fatima surged with a 20-11 advantage. The fourth quarter was fiercely contested, with the Lady Comets holding a 15-14 edge to pull out the win.

“They hit some tough shots down the stretch to ultimately beat us, but we had our opportunities to win and came up a little short,” said Rost.

A. Hostetler was hot from the outside with five three-pointers as she scored a team-high 19. K. Hostetler went 7-8 from the stripe and finished with 15. Also scoring were Hannah Hackmann (trey, 8 points), A. Baker (3-4 FT) with seven, V. Baker (5), and Monnette (2).

K. Hostetler had a team-high six assists, V. Baker added two, and Houston, A. Hostetler, Hackmann, Monnette, and A. Baker each had one.

K. Hostetler’s 10 rebounds gave her a double-double, and A. Hostetler nearly had one as she grabbed nine. V. Baker added seven, followed by A. Baker (6), Hackmann (4), Monnette (2), and Houston (1).

Defensively, K. Hostetler and V. Baker recorded two steals apiece, and Monnette finished with one.

Linn outscored North Callaway 11-3 in overtime in the opener to claim a 53-45 victory.

“We came out flat and had to battle all the way back,” said Coach Rost. “It was a good win, and it tested our ability to hang on and fight in games.”

Overall, the Lady Cats shot 37.5% from the floor while covering 14-32 at the line and 4-16 from beyond the arc.

Linn scored 28 points in the paint while holding SC to 14 and outscored the Lady Bulldogs 23-13 in transition.

K. Hostetler (6-8 FT) led with 16 points as A. Hostetler hit a pair of three-pointers as she posted 12, and A. Baker finished with 10. V. Baker also hit two treys and finished with eight points as Hackmann and Monnette added two points apiece.

K. Hostetler’s five assists paced the squad as A. Hostetler counted three, and V. Baker, Monnette, and A. Baker finished with one apiece.

On the rebounding front, V. Baker and A. Hostetler led with nine and eight, respectively. K. Hostetler added six, A. Baker had three, Monnette recorded two, and Houston and Hackmann collected one apiece.

A. Hostetler posted two steals and two blocks. K. Hostetler added four steals, V. Baker had two, and A. Baker notched one.