EMPORIA — For a moment Saturday afternoon, it felt like history might repeat itself. 

Instead, Linn made history. 

The Bulldogs survived a furious Hanover comeback and then dominated overtime to capture the program’s first-ever girls basketball state championship, defeating their Twin Valley League rival, 57-50, in the Class 1A Division II title game at White Auditorium.  

The victory capped a season of growth and redemption for Linn (24-5), which fell to Hanover in last year’s championship game. This time, the Bulldogs made sure the Wildcats would not claim a fourth straight state title. 

“It is amazing. There is no way to describe it,” Linn junior Baileigh Peters said. “This is the first time we have ever won something like this and to be able to say we are the first to do this in school history is beyond amazing.” 

From the opening tip, Linn looked determined to flip the script. 
 

The Bulldogs jumped out to an 18-7 lead after the first quarter and later pushed the advantage to as many as 15 points in the first half. Linn’s defensive pressure and early shooting put the defending champions on their heels as the Bulldogs controlled the tempo most of the afternoon. 

Peters and junior Gretchen Bott led the way for Linn throughout the game. Peters scored a game-high 22 points and went 11 of 14 at the free-throw line, while Bott added 16 points on an efficient 6-of-9 shooting performance.  

But Hanover (25-4) refused to go quietly. 

After struggling offensively in the first half, the Wildcats slowly chipped away at the deficit behind junior Drew Bruna. Her three-point play late in the third quarter trimmed the Linn lead to six and energized the Hanover bench. 

The Wildcats kept pushing in the fourth quarter. Baskets from Gracie Bruna, Leigha Jueneman and Einslee Stallbaumer brought Hanover all the way back before Drew Bruna tied the game with 30 seconds left in regulation. 
 

Suddenly, the Bulldogs’ comfortable lead was gone and the championship would be decided in overtime. 

“We knew they weren’t going to shut down,” Bott said. “They are a hard-nosed team and we knew they were going to fight back. I looked up once and we were up 10 and the next thing we were tied.” 

Hanover had all the momentum entering the extra period. 

Linn quickly took it back. 

Sophomore Josie Oehmke, who had just one basket during regulation, sparked the Bulldogs by drilling a 3-pointer to open overtime and gave Linn the lead again. After Peters added a free throw, senior Ella Oehmke delivered one final big moment in her final high school game, knocking down a jumper with 1:24 remaining to stretch the lead to 52-46. 

“Josie is every bit the definition of a spark plug,” Linn head coach Trevor Kuhlman said. “She comes off the bench and brings and spark. I got a little smile on my face when I saw her pull the trigger and it was an awesome shot. Then to see Ella ripped it through there and hitting that 2-point shot was big. Ella’s play was huge for a senior playing her last game. I am so proud of her and the career that she has had.” 
 

That basket proved to be the dagger. 

Peters then sealed the victory at the free-throw line as the Bulldogs closed out the overtime period  to secure the historic win. 

“Even though they forced overtime, we still knew that we had it,” Peters said. “We just needed to play together and survive those last few moments and stay tough on defense.” 

Hanover was led by Drew Bruna with 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Jueneman added eight points for the Wildcats.  

For Kuhlman, who is in his seventh season, the championship was the culmination of years of building the program. 

“I’m not sure I have fully processed it yet,” Kuhlman said. “I’m just so proud of these kids and proud of the community that came out and supported them. It means the world to these girls.” 
 

The rivalry only added to the emotion of the moment. Linn and Hanover not only share a league, but also the same school district, making the championship clash even more personal. 

“It is a rivalry for us,” Kuhlman said. “Everyone is a little more amped up for it. At the end of the day you are playing 36 minutes of basketball, and in those last four minutes when it mattered, we were the better team.” 

For Bott, the win carried even deeper meaning after previous losses to Hanover in big moments. 

“We lost to them last year in basketball and again this year in volleyball,” Bott said. “To be able to win this in overtime is just amazing. Hanover is such a great basketball team, but this means so much to me and our community.” 

When the final seconds ticked off the clock, the Bulldogs celebrated the moment that had been years in the making. 

“I was fortunate enough to have my point guard here from the first ever team that I coached at Linn,” Kuhlman aid. “She gave me a hug and told me how crazy it is and how much has changed and how different our basketball culture is and our school culture in general. We feel like we belong in these moments and are ready to compete. We proved that today.” 

CLASS 1A DIVISION II GIRLS CHAMPIONSHIP 

LINN 57, HANOVER 50 (OT) 

Hanover… 7 … 7 … 16 … 16 … 4 … -- … 50 
Linn… 18 … 6 … 12 … 10 … 11 … -- … 57 

Hanover (25-4) – G. Bruna 2-5 1-1 5, Stallbaumer 2-8 0-0 4, D. Bruna 7-13 5-7 19, Schlabach 1-3 1-4 3, Jueneman 3-5 2-5 8, Cohorst 2-6 0-0 5, Scheele 0-1 0-0 0, Heiman 0-3 6-6 6. Totals 17-44 15-23 50. 

Linn (24-5) – Peters 5-12 11-14 22, Bott 6-9 3-4 16, Turk 0-3 0-0 0, E. Oehmke 2-4 0-0 5, Meier 0-0 0-0 0, J. Oehmke 2-3 0-0 6, Hiltgen 2-9 0-2 6, Rogge 1-1 0-2 2. Totals 18-41 14-22 57. 

3-point goals – Hanover 1-14 (Cohorst 1-4, Stallbaumer 0-5, G. Bruna 0-1, D. Bruna 0-1, Jueneman 0-2, Scheele 0-1); Linn 7-18 (Peters 1-4, Bott 1-2, Turk 0-1, E. Oehmke 1-3, J. Oehmke 2-2, Hiltgen 2-6). Rebounds – Hanover 32 (D. Bruna 10); Linn 26 (Hiltgen 8). Assists – Hanover 8 (Schlabach 3); Linn 10 (Peters 3). Turnovers – Hanover 13, Linn 10. Total fouls – Hanover 19, Linn 20. Fouled out – none.