The opposition became even more daunting for Linn-Mar girls' basketball team last week, which made the Lions' three wins all the more impressive.

Linn-Mar, which took over the No. 1 ranking in Class 4A late last week, was ranked third when it beat then-No. 1 Cedar Rapids Kennedy in a Mississippi Valley Conference make-up game 62-49 Jan. 19, whipped then top-15 ranked Cedar Rapids Washington 62-48 last Thursday, and capped it with a 52-46 victory over 3A No. 5 Ballard Saturday night in Huxley.

The Lions headed into Tueday's MVC game at Dubuque Wahlert with an overall record of 16-0 and a league mark of 11-0. They had won 38 straight regular season games before the showdown at Wahlert. MVC play continues Friday with a home game against 4A No. 10 Cedar Rapids Xavier.

The big win over Kennedy set the table for the Lions, who then spent the rest of the week guarding against a letdown with important games waiting with Washington and Ballard.

"We talked about that before the game, just hoping we wouldn't come out and let down after that kind of game on Tuesday," Linn-Mar coach Mike Brandt said in a radio interview after Thursday's win over Washington.

Kiah Stokes continued to solidify herself as one of the nation's top high school juniors, and the game against Kennedy was attended by Rutgers head coach C. Vivian Stringer, among others.

Stokes had three double-doubles and one triple-double last week. She had 28 points and 10 rebounds against Kennedy; 22 points, 18 rebounds and 10 blocks in the win over Washington; and came back with 14 points and 15 rebounds against Ballard.

She often found herself going head-to-head with Kennedy's Jade Rogers - an Iowa recruit - and viable Washington post Tia Dawson in games last week.

"We want Kiah to guard whoever it is, whereever it is, and try to be aggressive doing it," Brandt said.

Stokes averages 19 points, 12.8 rebounds and 5.5 blocks per game.

Kayla Klopfenstein helped out with 15 points against Kennedy and 12 points in the win over Washington. She is averaging 12.9 points per game.

D.J. Norman, coming back from a knee strain, had 12 points against Washington and 11 against Ballard. Jenna Eells hit a pair of 3-pointers and finished with 10 points against Ballard after being held scoreless in the previous two games.

The Lions have really stepped things up defensively in the second half of the season. They are surrendering an average of only 38 points per game and only three of their 16 opponents have topped the 50-point mark.

"The girls know they have to take care of what we do," Brandt said. "At this point in the season, you pretty much know everybody and what's going to go on. It's just a matter of taking care of your own."