Sometimes, the score doesn’t do justice to the manner in which the game was played. Linn hosted the fourth-ranked Lady Lions on Friday, winning 60-50 in overtime.

However, that by itself doesn’t capture the essence of the Lady Cats’ grit and determination.

“I’m blessed with a lot of multi-sport athletes who have played a lot of big-time games already in other sports,” said Coach Caleb Thomas. “So pressure isn’t foreign to them.”

Early in the contest, the Lady Cats struggled to convert, and Crocker pulled out to a 27-12 halftime lead.

Overcoming that hurdle was the first objective.

“We talked at halftime about making sure we’re connected,” Thomas noted after the game. “They were slipping some screens, and that was something we really worked on all week — how they like to screen their offense. We made some adjustments to certain aspects, specifically regarding our approach to using switches. And man, we shot the ball much better. We finally had a second half where we shot the way we can. And it was really nice to see the defensive effort and what that led to down the stretch.”

Linn, which shot 39.1% from the field, came out of the break and made three straight stop-scores to chip away at the 15-point deficit. The Lady Cats won the third by a 16-5 margin, that 11-point swing making the fourth quarter manageable. “Our momentum shifted, and we didn’t have any fall-off on the defensive end. We really were primary on our defensive effort leading into tonight, and it paced everything,” said Thomas. “Everything opened up coming out of the break.”

The Lady Cats went from covering four field goals in the first half to finishing strong from the inside out, hitting 13-27 from short range and 5-19 from beyond the arc. “We told the girls if they kept up the defensive effort, there’s no way we shot that way in the second half. And if we do, you tip your hat. We really buckled down on defense. Crocker has two high-quality players that we were really able to keep in check in the second half. And we really keyed on Lexi Ament; she’s a heck of a ball player, but we were able to keep her simple. We were able to attack with our size and their lack of size, and get a couple of them in foul trouble.”

Carley Brandt had an outstanding week, finishing this game with 18 points and 16 rebounds after posting 28 points and 14 rebounds earlier on Tuesday against Blair Oaks. “Carley inside had a huge game, Kenzy (Hackmann) was solid running point,” said Thomas. “Our rebounding was solid, and even in games we found a way to lose, that has been massive. It really helps our defense, the way they rebound. You limit second-chance shots.”

Linn held Crocker to just four second-chance points in the game while scoring nine. On the rebounding front, the Lady Cats held a 24-16 edge on the defensive end and won the overall battle, 34-26. “Carley’s such a presence in the middle,” said Thomas. “If we can get a touch, they’re going to collapse. And she can kick out to the guards if need be, and they can make plays.”

Brandt went 6-10 from the FT line, while Hackmann, who scored 14 points, was 5-6 at the stripe and had a three-pointer to her credit.

As the fourth quarter unfolded, the Lady Cats battled for every shot and forced Crocker to stop them.

That led to an amazing stat for Linn, as the girls went 9-10 from the line in the fourth quarter to help force OT, and 10-14 overall, counting the final 12 minutes of play.

“Anytime they’re willing to put you on the line, you’ve got to knock ‘em down,” said Thomas.

The final minute of regulation was a free-throw battle, each team running close as the fourth quarter ended 42-42.

Once the Lady Cats controlled the OT tip, the momentum continued to favor the home team, and Linn built a 10-point lead to close out the game.

Nicole Grellner (2 treys, 3-6 FT) and Paige Senevey (3-4 FT) each scored nine, as Heslie Higginbotham added a trey and went 2-2 (FT) on her way to seven points. Jorja Kempker rounded out scoring with a three-pointer. Grellner led with five assists, Hackmann added four, Kempker and Higginbotham dished it twice apiece, and Ali Russell finished with one.

Senevey counted 12 rebounds, as Hackmann and Higgs each added two, and Kempker posted one.

Defensively, Brandt had two blocks and a steal, and Russell and Higginbotham recorded two steals apiece, with one from Senevey.

Thomas was pleased with the atmosphere and how that impacted his players. “We talked about confidence, and having a crowd that shows such great support is awesome,” he said. “We’ve probably lost by a combined 10 possessions over the last three games. We can look at that and see what fell apart. I kept telling the girls we have a good ball club, and we’re just a possession away each quarter. And if you do that every quarter, you’ll find a way to lose some games. Tonight, we really buckled down in the second half and got after it.”

On Tuesday, the Lady Cats fell to Blair Oaks, 65-57.

Linn led 28-22 at the half, but the Lady Falcons clawed back into it in the third with a 20-11 effort.

Trailing by four with about two minutes left, Linn had to foul, which expanded the Blair Oaks lead.

Despite the loss, Thomas is happy with the lessons learned. “I like those kinds of matchups,” he said. “I like beginning the year like that with our schedule, because Blair Oaks has a couple of quality high school basketball players. Carley won a matchup against a tough player.”

He noted that Tuesday’s loss motivated the team. “It was a nice little builder because it was nice to play a quality opponent where our post players are going to get pushed a little bit, and guards had to play a role, knowing tonight our post players were going to be able to do some stuff, but having to lean on them a little bit. I think some opportunities that we didn’t hit on Tuesday night really helped us find some nice, easy shots tonight.”

Also scoring for Linn against Blair Oaks: Grellner (2 treys) with 10 points, followed by Hackmann (trey, 4-6 FT) with seven, Higginbotham (6), Kempker (trey, 2-2 FT) with five, and Senevey (1). Grellner’s six assists led the way as Hackmann added four, and Russell, Higginbotham, and Brandt posted one apiece.

On the boards, Senevey posted seven, followed by Hackmann (4), Higginbotham (3), and Grellner and Russell (2 each).

Brandt recorded four steals, Grellner had two, and Hackmann, Kempker, and Senevey each had one. Senevey also had a block.