Linn knew Saturday’s third-place game against Blair Oaks would be just like any other contest with the Lady Falcons in their ongoing rivalry. The Harrisburg tournament proved to be an exciting stage for the Lady Wildcats, who claimed a 59-53 overtime win.

Coach Caleb Thomas is pleased with the team’s run to curtail a first-half Blair Oaks surge. “We went into the break on a nice little run,” he said, the Lady Cats cutting the deficit to just two points at 26-24 following an Ali Russell three-pointer with 14.3 seconds left in the half. “At halftime, we really hammered home that we liked our plan, and everything was starting to trend in the right direction, especially right at the end of the second quarter. The momentum was squarely in our court.”

On Saturday, Brandt earned All-Tournament team honors after scoring 10 points and grabbing 11 rebounds; she finished with 41 points and 32 rebounds over three games, leading the team with averages of 13.66 points and 10.66 rebounds. “Carley was the anchor of the tournament,” said Thomas, noting she consistently controlled the paint and set the tone with her physicality and effort. “It was a true workhorse performance.”

Nicole Grellner was also named to the All-Tournament team after scoring a team-high 16 points (with a trey). She finished the three-game span with 24 points and 11 rebounds. “Nicole brought intensity, scoring, and chaos for opponents,” said Thomas. “Her defensive activity created turnovers and momentum-shifting plays while also contributing offensively in key moments.”

Against the Lady Falcons, Paige Senevey added 10 points and 14 rebounds, as Russell posted eight points, Heslie Higginbotham added seven, Kenzy Hackmann put in five, and Jorja Kempker (trey) finished with three.

Playing with a 35-second shot clock made a difference, Thomas noted. “It really allowed us to look down and be like, ‘All right, 35 seconds of what we do really well.’ And if you can’t get a shot up, we’re going to run down the other way, so it helped us focus,” he said.

The Lady Cats tied the game at 32 with 4:18 to go in the third, and kept clawing for every opportunity. Linn took its first lead at 40-39 with less than 10 seconds to play in the quarter. Blair Oaks hit a buzzer-beater to end the frame ahead, 41-40, which set the stage for an exciting finish.

With 3:14 left in regulation, the Lady Falcons took a timeout to talk things over with a 48-47 lead.

Linn tied it up at 50-50 with 15 seconds left, and with 9.8 remaining, Blair Oaks ran a play, but the Lady Cats held strong.

In the extra period, Linn broke the tie with a putback from Senevey, followed by a trey from Grellner. That gave the Lady Cats a 55-50 lead with 1:07 to go in OT, and Linn used a 4-3 exchange to claim the win.

“When our defense plays well, we really swallow teams up and frustrate them,” said Thomas. “I think that was a huge part of our win on Saturday and earlier against Fayette. I don’t have much to say about the Centralia game. They are a good team, and we didn’t play as well as we could have. But the other two games were right where we needed to be.”

Linn lost the second-round game 67-24. Brandt led with 14 points, as Higgs scored five (3-4 FT), Russell added three on a trey, and Grellner and Hackmann added one apiece.

On the glass, Grellner, Brandt, and Higginbotham snagged four rebounds apiece, and Hackmann claimed one.

Thomas was happy with all his players. “We’re blessed with some size and speed and some size that is fast,” he said.

That combination proved formidable in Linn’s opening-round 49-42 win against Fayette. Brandt had a double-double with 17 points and 17 rebounds. Higgs added nine points and 12 boards, Hackmann (trey, 5-10 FT) added eight points, Kempker (2 treys) and Grellner (trey) put in seven apiece, and Russell finished with one.

Other rebounds came from Hackmann (6), Grellner (5), Kempker (2), and Russell (1).

Thomas praised Higginbotham for rising to the challenge against Fayette. “She had to step in and play the power forward position because Paige was out sick, and she was one point away from a double-double,” he said. “She had a career-high in rebounds, and has been versatile all year, guarding one through five. She one of three girls we selected as possible All-Tournament selections leading into the third-place game. But it was in the Fayette game where her efforts in the four position, which she does not play, really allowed us to use her as a spin-off point. Having her down there in the post allows her to come out a little bit and drag somebody, which allows the other girls to move. And to be honest, for a guard, she said screens really well.”

Thomas believes the team is solid and can compete with anyone. “We have shown that if we can keep it close in the fourth quarter, you’re going to have to beat us,” he said. “If we can get to the fourth quarter, it’s going to be who can guard a little bit better and who can make the best play. And right now, when we’re close in the fourth, we find a way. I really think Saturday is going to be a jumping-off point for us. I like playing tough games because they make us better. We are such a balanced basketball team, and we have shown the ability to drag games out into the fourth quarter, which allows our strengths like rebounding and defending to really make things difficult for opponents. On any given night, someone can go off for 20, and it won’t be the person that you probably game plan for. When everyone is clicking, it’s a lot to handle.”