Pat Harty

Your Prep Sports

IOWA CITY – Sophomore Audrey Koch scored a game-high 24 points against Linn-Mar on Saturday, but it was a shot by one of her teammates that didn’t go in the basket that she was most excited about.

That shot was taken by Audrey’s older sister, Emma Koch, in the closing minutes of a 60-41 victory over Linn-Mar in a Class 5A Region 7 semifinal at the West High gymnasium.

Emma’s shot from 3-point range skidded off the basket, but the fact she even took it was a victory by itself.

Emma Cook was expected to be one of the key frontline players for West High as a senior this season before she suffered a season-ending knee injury.

Her younger sister has since taken on that roll.

“That was amazing,” Audrey Koch said. “I wish she was starting with us and playing all the time. But the fact that she’s come this far since when she tore her (ACL) is really awesome. And I was glad she could get a three.”

Fifth-ranked West High improved to 17-3 overall and will face second-ranked Waukee on Tuesday in Waukee with a trip to the state tournament on the line.

The Women of Troy are trying to defend the state title that they won last season with Emma Koch playing a key role.

Audrey Koch came out aggressive on offense in Saturday's game and scored 14 of her team’s 24 points in the first half.

She actually matched Linn-Mar’s point total in the first half, which ended with West High leading 24-14 at the break.

“We all have to be a lot more aggressive after losing the seniors and Emma,” Audrey Koch said. “And we knew that this game was really important because once we lose we’re done.

“So it’s kind of just that mentality we’ve got to put it all out there.”

West High put the game out of reach by outscoring Linn-Mar 28-10 in the third quarter.

There was a stretch in the third quarter where West High made five consecutive 3-point baskets, with five different players, including Audrey Koch, making one apiece.

That was a drastic change from the first half when the Women of Troy missed all nine of their 3-point field-goal attempts.

“Some of the shots weren’t falling earlier in the game, so I knew that a lot of our points were going to be from inside more,” Audrey Koch said. “But then in the second half people started hitting and it was great.”

Freshman guard Emma Ingersoll-Weng came off the bench to score 12 points for West High. She and Audrey Koch were the only players for West High to score in double figures.

The West High seniors were honored after Saturday’s victory during an emotional ceremony on the court. It was the last appearance for a senior class that has been very successful.

“It’s a pretty good class and a lot of them have been playing for four years,” said West High coach B.J. Mayer. “We were able to get Emma back on the floor on Senior Night.”

Some of the fans were yelling for Emma Koch to return to the game, but Mayer didn’t want to take any chances with his talented senior, who will play basketball for Dartmouth next season.

“They were yelling, so she got up and I said, no, I’m not going to put you back in,” Mayer said. “I just don’t want anything to happen. She’s having a lot of success with her rehab right now and she’s got bigger and better things coming going to college and playing at Dartmouth. So we just didn’t want anything to happen.

“We got her a shot and she missed, but a great kid. We’ve got a lot of great kids on our team. We’re going to miss these seniors. So hopefully, we can keep playing a little bit longer.”

The injury to Emma Koch has forced her younger sister to grow up in a hurry. Audrey, who also will play basketball at Dartmouth, was expected to play a key role despite being just a sophomore, but she’s had to carry a bigger load with Emma not on the floor.

“Audrey had to grow up a little bit faster, and we expect a lot out of Audrey,” Mayer said. “Some nights because she’s a young kid, a sophomore, she has some ups and downs. And we were thankful that she had a big night tonight because we needed that.

“She’s a very humble kid that wants her teammates to do well as well. I know she probably thanked her teammates for getting her the ball in great positions.”

Both teams struggled to score in the first quarter, which ended with West High leading 10-6. The Women of Troy were slightly better on offense in the second quarter, but Mayer still felt fortunate to be leading by 10 points at halftime.

“I’m glad we could make some shots in that second half because in the first half it was pretty ugly for a while,” Mayer said. “We were still up ten (at halftime), and I didn’t think we played very well offensively.

“So to come out of there with a good win is great. But we’re going to have to play a lot better than that on Tuesday when we go to play Waukee.”

Linn-Mar     6     8  10 17  –  41

West High  10  14  28  8   –  60

Linn-Mar (41) – Keegan Krejca 4-9 4-5 12, Macey Miller 2-9 8-9 12, Hallie Peak 0-3 0-0 0, Alexis Beier 3-11 3-4 11, Emma Casebolt 1-2 0-0 2, Marissa Miller 0-2 0-0 0, Jamison Feldman 1-3 0-0 2, Molly Chmelicek 0-1 0-0 0, Caelynn Obleton 1-2 0-0 3, Ashley Stuecker 0-0 0-0 0, Abby Thoms 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 12-43 15-18 41

West High (60) – Cailyn Morgan  4-14 0-0 9, Matayia Tellis 1-3 0-0 3, Lauren Zacharias 3-13 0-0 7, Sydney Allen 1-1 0-0 2, Audrey Koch 10-16 2-3 24, Emma Ingersoll-Weng 4-8 2-2 12, Grace Schneider 1-2 0-0 2, Katelynn Hillberry 0-0 1-2 1, Rylee Goodfellow 0-0 0-0 0, Emma Koch 0-1 0-0 0, Linnea Rietz 0-0 0-0 0, Liv Williams 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-58 5-7 61.

3-point field goals – Linn-Mar 3 (Beier 2, Obleton); West High 7 (Audrey Koch 2, Ingersoll-Weng 2, Zacharias, Tellis, Morgan. Totals fouls – Linn-Mar 13, West High 16.