Linn's intense full-court press led to easy buckets on the offensive end, as the Hostetler sisters -- Aushara (16 points) and Kiana (10) -- combined for 26 points against New Bloomfield girls basketball.
Those two factors, sisters, led to the Lady Cats beating the Lady Wildcats 52-29 in a Show-Me Conference game Thursday evening in New Bloomfield.
From the tip, Linn dominated the contest. The Lady Cats scored the first two points of the match on Kiana Hostetler's jumper.
Then, on the Lady Wildcats' ensuing possession, Linn used its full-court press to full effect, as Aushara Holstetler stole the ball before New Bloomfield reached halfcourt. Aushara's steal led to a Vivien Baker transition bucket.
More of the same happened throughout the contest. The Lady Cats scored seven points before Brinley Dysart drained a transition 3 for the Lady Wildcats' first points.
Dysart scored after Avery Nichols stole the ball from Linn and passed it to her in transition. Dysart and Nichols were the only standout players for New Bloomfield in a game in which it struggled most of the time.
Dysart hit two 3s in the first quarter while hitting a jumper in the second. She scored eight of the Lady Wildcats' 11 first-half points.
"Brinley has been playing well all year," Craighead said. "She seemed like she'd hit some big shots for us when we needed it. I mean, she's kind of one of our leaders on our team. And I thought she played well."
Meanwhile, the Hostetler sisters tallied 15 of Linn's 22 points in the first half -- with all 15 scored in the first quarter. In the half, Aushara notched nine points, three steals and a block, while Kiana had six points and a steal.
"They're good, and they got more than just those two," New Bloomfield coach Brett Craighead said. "So they're hard to guard. You can't just concentrate on them."
Besides those two, the Lady Cats' methodical, defensive full-court press proved too much for New Bloomfield. Linn scored 16 points in transition, including 10 in the first half when it was still anyone's game.
"Their size gave us some problems," Craighead said. "They're fast, and they got long arms. And we had trouble with their pressure. We haven't been pressed like that in a while, but it wasn't one of our best games, wasn't one of our worse. We just had trouble getting in our offense. And that's because of them and the way they play defense. They're a good team."
At halftime, the Lady Cats led 24-11. Linn added to the rout in the second half while the Lady Wildcats struggled to get through the Lady Cats' defense.
While New Bloomfield couldn't get its offense going as a team, Nichols had flashes of brilliance for the Lady Wildcats.
Nichols scored a team-high nine points, seven of which came in the second half. Nichols found an open lane for a layup a couple of times while landing a right-corner 3 for her final scoring play; Nichols made two of her three shots from the field off throw-ins.
Nichols scored two of the Lady Wildcats' five shots from the field in the second half. New Bloomfield registered two 3s in the half, including Macie Abbott's fourth-quarter buzzer-beater 3 from just past halfcourt.
Abbott's buzzer-beater gave the Lady Wildcats enjoyment in a game they will want to forget.
Like New Bloomfield, Linn won its first Show-Me Conference game earlier this week. The Lady Cats achieved their second conference victory for the week, while the Lady Wildcats split their first two-- each team ends the week with another conference matchup today.
"Lin's good," Craighead said. "They played Fatima earlier down at South Callaway Tournament in a four-point game (Fatima won). They're legit, and they got lots of weapons. And they're gonna probably win a few more in conference before it's all said and done."
New Bloomfield (6-15, 1-3 Show-Me Conference) will face Eugene (6-14, 0-2) -- who Linn beat 52-40 Tuesday -- at 4:30 p.m. today in Eugene.
"We gotta forget it like it didn't happen because we got a game (today)," Craighead said. "We get to regroup and get a chance to redeem ourselves."