Muscatine High School's Sofia Cardoza, left, tries to get past the defensive pressure of Linn-Mar's D.J. Norman in the third quarter of Saturday's non-conference game in the MHS Fieldhouse. Brian Halligan/ Muscatine Journal

MUSCATINE, Iowa – Top-ranked Linn-Mar made Muscatine High School pay for another slow start out of the gates.

For the third consecutive game, coach Jeff Tank’s Muskies struggled to get anything going offensively in the opening quarter, managing just one point in an eventual 75-17 spanking Saturday night in the MHS Fieldhouse.

“We didn’t show up again,” said Tank after the Muskies dropped to 1-2 in the early going. “I can talk and talk, but they don’t seem to understand that they have to work hard to prepare themselves for a physical battle like this.”

The Muskies have now scored five (34-19 loss to Cedar Rapids Prairie), three (55-49 win over Mount Pleasant) and one (Saturday’s loss to Linn-Mar) in the first quarter of their games this season.

Muscatine’s only first-quarter point Saturday night came on a free throw by Johnnie Jindrich with 47 seconds left in the period after the Lions (3-0) had reeled off the game’s first 29 points. The Muskies missed their nine first-quarter shot attempts and turned the ball over 11 times.

“We sure didn’t help ourselves with shoddy defense and poor ballhandling,” said Tank.

“They didn’t take the night off after playing Assumption (56-50 win) last night. We knew they’d be ready. They’re a fundamentally sound basketball team.”

The rout continued in the second period when Linn-Mar reeled off another 12 points to open the quarter, extending the lead to 41-1 before Jindrich added two more free throws.

After eight more misses, the Muskies finally got their first basket of the game when reserve Hannah Peck dropped in a short jumper 28 seconds before halftime.

“When you go 0 for your first 17 shots, it shows you’re not poised enough to get anything done,” said Tank. “We were just throwing the ball up there and hoping it would go in the basket.”

After nine more points to open the third quarter, coach Michael Brandt gave his starters the rest of the night off.

University of Iowa recruit Jaime Printy topped the Lions with 15 points, hitting six-of-eight shots from the field.

All but two of Linn-Mar’s 13 players scored, while just five entered the scoring column for the Muskies. Jindrich and Viola Wagner had five each to lead the way.

“We’re not as bad as we showed,” said Tank, “but we looked pretty intimidated. Hopefully, the kids come back and practice hard on Monday in preparation for our MAC game Friday at Davenport West. If they have any mettle, they’ll come in and practice hard.”

Reporter contact information:

Roger Bates: 563-262-0528

roger.bates@muscatinejournal.com

Linn-Mar 75, Muscatine 17

Linn-Mar        29   20   13   13   –   75

Muscatine       1     6     7     3   –   17

Linn-Mar (75) – Kayla Klopfenstein 1-4 0-0 2, Kiley Haines 4-5 0-0 8, D.J. Norman 4-6 3-4 11, Whitney Rissi 1-2 0-0 2, Megan Young 1-4 1-2 3, Leigh-Ann Boots 0-2 0-0 0, Jaime Printy 6-8 0-0 15, Jenna Eells 2-5 2-2 7, Rachel Kearney     4-4 0-0 8, Erin Hutchins 0-1 0-0 0, Kiah Stokes 4-7 1-1 9, Noor Amr 3-6 0-0 6, Morgan Terpstra 2-6 0-1 4. Totals – 32-60 7-10 75.

Muscatine (17) – Sofia Cardoza 0-2 1-2 1, Jordan Walgren 0-6 0-0 0, Dani Wanfalt 0-2 0-0 0, Julie Wunder 0-7 2-2 2, Jessica Debold 0-2  0-3 0, Johnnie Jindrich 1-7 3-4 5, Hannah Peck 2-3 0-0 4, Haylie Franklin 0-1 0-0 0, Caitlin York 0-2 0-0 0, Andrea Chatfield 0-1 0-0 0, Viola Wagner 2-9 0-1 5. Totals – 5-42 6-12 17.

3-point goals – Linn-Mar 4-13 (Klopfenstein 0-2, Norman 0-1, Boots 0-1, Printy 3-5, Eeels    1-3, Hutchins 0-1); Muscatine 1-7 (Walgren 0-2, Wanfalt 0-1, Wunder 0-2, Jindrich 0-1, Wagner  1-1). Rebounds – Linn-Mar 41 (Stokes 4, Terpstra 4); Muscatine 24 (Wagner 4, York 4, Jindrich 4). Total fouls – Linn-Mar 17; Muscatine 13. Fouled out – None. Turnovers – Linn-Mar 18; Muscatine 29.

Records – Linn-Mar 3-0; Muscatine 1-2.

Next game – Muscatine at Davenport West, Friday, Dec. 5.