The Webster City Lynx basketball team returned to action on Thursday night for their Class 3A, Substate 1 semifinal against the ADM Tigers at Jeff Gym in Webster City Middle School. Webster City entered with a record of 17-3, while ADM entered with an 11-11 record out of the Raccoon River Conference, and were led by head coach Trevor Mickelson, a member of the 2004 and 2005 state tournament teams for Webster City, along with Lynx head coach Brett Ratcliff
The offense got going early for the Lynx after a slow start in Monday’s win over Gilbert, with 3 first quarter three-pointers putting Webster City ahead 16-12 at the end of the 1st quarter. The 2nd and 3rd quarters would be much of the same, as Webster City kept ADM at arms length away throughout most of the game, leading 43-35 going into the 4th quarter.
ADM would not go quietly into the night, roaring back to tie the game at 50-50 with just under 3:30 to go in the game. Down the stretch, it was the play of forward Briar Klaver and guard Ty McKinney that would be the deciding factor, as Klaver went on a personal 5-0 run to give Webster City a 55-52 lead, followed by McKinney’s defense and free throws that allowed the Lynx to seal the 57-52 win.
McKinney and Klaver both had game-highs in scoring with 19 points each, as McKinney finished with 19 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists, while Klaver finished with 19 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists. McKinney said physicality was a big part of the Lynx gameplan. “They were a strong physical team, we knew they were physical. They’ve got quite a few guys that are bigger boys, so we had to come in and be physical and have that physical mentality.”
Webster City will take on Sioux City Bishop Heelan on Monday night at Fort Dodge Senior High in the Class 3A, Substate 1 final, with tipoff at 7 PM, live coverage can be heard on 95.7 KQWC.