Linn wrapped up a great week of basketball at the holiday tournament on Saturday with a 42-29 win over Newburg for the Lady Cats’ first home title.

“I told the girls this was a well-deserved tournament championship,” said Coach Ryan Rost. “Here’s one tournament win. We still have two more before districts to add to our collection if we can,  but it’s gonna take a lot of hard work. I told them we’re still not where I want us to be, but we’re getting better every single day, and they’re fun to watch.”

Linn jumped all over Newburg in the first quarter, amassing a 12-3 lead to start the second. From there, the Lady Cats played relatively even, holding onto the lead throughout the game.

After a 23-13 halftime lead was established, Linn won the third 15-11 and the fourth, 7-5.

“We put in a lot of work at the beginning of season implementing our man-to-man defense and honing in some offensive scoring principles of how I wanted to play,” said Rost. “It’s a lot different than what they’ve been used to the last four years. We’ve had a lot of ups and downs and growing pains, but we’re starting to click a little bit. We’re starting to have those really good spurts where we score a lot of points and we play really good defense. We’ve got to find a way to do it all four quarters. For the most part, we’re playing really well. I’m pleased with how much we’ve grown in the last few weeks.”

Linn shot 34.7% from the floor and covered five three-pointers in 14 attempts. At the line, the Lady Cats went 6-7, and did a good job in the paint, scoring 24, including seven second-chance points.

Tournament MVP Aushara Hostetler hit four treys and went 2-3 at the line en route to a game-high 18 points. Vivien Baker added a trey and nine points as Kiana Hostetler went 2-2 from the stripe and posted eight. Both were named to the all-tournament team.

Autumn Baker added seven and Hannah Hackmann posted three points to go with a team-high four assists. K. Hostetler added three assists, A. Baker and A. Hostetler each posted two, and V. Baker finished with one.

On the glass, K. Hostetler and A. Baker shared the lead with six rebounds apiece as Ava Warren snagged three, Hackmann and A. Hostetler each collected two, and Emma Monnette finished with one.

On the defensive side, Marly Houston, K. Hostetler, and A. Hostetler claimed two steals each, and V. Baker, and Hackmann had one apiece.

“The girls are realizing they can play with anybody,” said Coach Rost. “I told them if they keep working hard and hustling and buy in to our philosophy, there’s no reason that they can’t beat anybody. We can be that team that most teams have to worry about on their schedule. Historically, for a long time, girls basketball hasn’t been that here. I told this group we can kind of change the narrative with effort and hard work. We’re getting there, we’re 7-1, but nowhere close to done.”

In the semis, Linn defeated Cuba 48-41.

“Our biggest challenge was that I had four girls coming in with the flu,” said Rost. “The fact that they toughed it out and played that hard was a true testament to their toughness. We jumped on them early and then we started getting worn down and tired. It took everything we had left in the fourth quarter to hold on.”

With a 13-6 lead to start the second, Linn played even (11-11) through the second to hold a 24-17 halftime lead. Cuba pressured in the third, winning the period 16-8 but Linn reversed that number in the final quarter.

Linn took 14 three-point shots and sunk four while hitting 10-22 at the line. Overall, the Lady Cats shot 40.5%, and took advantage of 14 turnovers for 15 points, 13 of which came in transition.

A. Hostetler posted 13 points, including two three-pointers and a 3-4 mark at the line to lead the team. A. Baker (2-3 FT) posted eight, K. Hostetler (trey), Hackmann (trey) and V. Baker each scored seven, Houston added four, and Monnette finished with two. K. Hostetler led with six assists, followed by Houston and A. Hostetler (2 each), and V. Baker, Warren, and A. Baker (1 apiece).

K. Hostetler snatched a team-high nine rebounds, followed by V. Baker (5), A. Baker (4), A. Hostetler (4), Hackmann (2), and Monnette (1).

K. Hostetler had the team’s lone block and led with three steals, as Houston and V. Baker added two steals apiece, and Monnette and A. Baker each had one.

Linn opened the tournament with a 67-34 win over St. Clair.

Leading 27-18 at the break, the Lady Cats extended the margin by four at the start of the fourth, during which, the girls outscored St. Clair 22-2 to close out the game on a high note.

In a great performance, Linn shot 50% from the floor, with a 6-15 mark from the outside and 7-12 at the stripe.

Rebounding was owned by Linn with a 37-25 edge, and the Lady Cats scored 19 points off turnovers.

A. Hostetler hit 5-9 from outside and went 2-2 at the FT line, finishing with a game-high 25 as she grabbed nine rebounds and finished with three steals and two blocks.

Also in double figures were K. Hostetler (16, with a trey), and V. Baker (12), as Houston added eight, and Hackmann scored six. K. Hostetler and V. Baker each dished the ball six times, Hackmann had three, and Houston and Monnette finished with one apiece.

V. Baker was a monster rebounder with 12 to her credit for a double-double, followed by K. Hostetler and Hackmann (4 each), Warren (2), and Houston and Natasha Jewell (1 each).

K. Hostetler added two blocks and Monnette had another. Also with steals were V. Baker (5), Monnette (2), K. Hostetler (2), and Houston and Hackmann (1 each).

Overall, Rost is happy with the weeklong performance.

“I’m very pleased with how all of us have played together,” he said. “Whether they’re starting or coming in off the bench, the girls are playing really good minutes and doing anything I ask them to do. We’re all starting to grow. Everyone’s starting to realize their roles and how important they are to the team, and that anybody can spark us and get us going. We’re starting to figure that out and I think it’s it’s going to be a lot smoother, especially when you see the results that they bring, with us winning and finally playing as a team. They understand there are no small parts of the team; they’re all buying in. It’s awesome and finally starting to pay off.”