Prairie Girls Basketball

Dellamuth 1st team MVC & Metro

Cedar Rapids Kennedy senior Courtney Strait collected a pair of big honors Wednesday.

Strait was named the Athlete of the Year for girls basketball in the Mississippi Valley Conference (Mississippi Division) and in the Metro area, based on voting by coaches.

Strait, a 5-foot-9 guard, leads all Class 4A scorers this season with an average of 20.9 points per game.

Danielle Franklin of Washington, Madison Dellamuth of Prairie and Maddie Koolbeck of Jefferson joined Strait as first-team selections on the all-MVC and all-Metro teams.

Katyln Andersen of Xavier was a first-team choice on the all-conference team. Emily Walvoord of Xavier, Mykaela Brandt of Linn-Mar and Dani Peyton of Marion were first-team picks on the all-Metro squad.

Tom Lilly of Xavier was named the Metro Coach of the Year. The Saints are the only Metro team that will play in the state tournament next week in Des Moines.

ALL-MISSISSIPPI VALLEY CONFERENCE

MISSISSIPPI DIVISION

FIRST TEAM: Danielle Franklin* (CRW), Mickey Hansche (ICH), Tessa Leytem* (DW), Kristie Sommer (DS), Courtney Strait* (CRK), Blaire Thomas* (WW), Claire Till (DW).

SECOND TEAM: Mykaela Brandt (LM), Sierra Chambers (ICH), Zinka Duric (WW), Haley Puk (WW), Jazz Royster (CRW), Katie Sommer (DS), Beth Walker (DW).

HONORABLE MENTION: Paige Hendrickson (CRK), Stephanie Botkin (CRK), Abby Herb (CRW), Madison Kramer (CRW), Nakiah Kimble (DS), Elizabeth Reuter (DS), Logan Lynch (DW), Olivia Smith (DW), Haley Lorenzen (ICH), Kiera Washpun (ICH), Shanice Cheatham (LM), Courtney Major (LM), Ashley Hill (WW), Makayla Stokes (WW).

ALL-ACADEMIC: Courtney Strait (CRK), Grace Reinhart (CRK), Kelli Klaus (CRW), Lauren Goodlove (CRW), Elizabeth Reuter (DS), Natalie Jacobsmeier (DS), Tessa Leytem (DW), Beth Walker (DW), Katherine Van der Woude (ICH), Harper Beasley (ICH), Shanice Cheatham (LM), Kelsey Duggan (LM), Zinka Duric (WW), Ashley Hill (WW).

ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Courtney Strait (CRK).
COACH OF THE YEAR: Kris Spiegler (DW).

VALLEY DIVISION

FIRST TEAM: Katlyn Andersen* (CRX), Kaz Brown* (CF), Madison Dellamuth (CRP), Ally Disterhoft* (ICW), Brittani Graves (DH), Maddie Koolbeck (CRJ), Mckenzie Piper (ICW).

SECOND TEAM: Rachel Broghammer (CRJ), Tatum Klein (ICW), Courteney McCrary (CRP), Jessica Shull (ICW), Shelly Stumpff (ICW), Emily Walvoord (CRX), Allie Wirth (CF).

HONORABLE MENTION: Krystal Graves (CF), Emily Neff (CF), Madison Blietz (CRJ), Kaitlyn Davidson (CRJ), Alisa Weiland (CRP), Cyerra Hutchins (CRP), Alex Bartz (CRX), Kayla Armstrong (CRX), Haley Van Cleave (DH), Megan Doty (DH), Brianna Sturtz (ICW), Shahana Williams (ICW), Dakia Frazier (WE), Shakari Baker-Bruce (WE).

ALL-ACADEMIC: Kaitlyn Hennings (CF), Krystal Graves (CF), Maddie Koolbeck (CRJ), Dani Stromert (CRJ), Marisa Adams (CRP), Brianna Bennett (CRP), Emily Walvoord (CRX), Katlyn Andersen (CRX), Stephanie Cox (DH), Sephanie Tauke (DH), Kelley Fliehler (ICW), Mckenzie Piper (ICW), Dakia Frazier (WE), Shakari Baker-Bruce (WE).

ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Ally Disterhoft (ICW).
COACH OF THE YEAR: Dan List (CF).

ALL-METRO

FIRST TEAM: Courtney Strait* (CRK), Madison Dellamuth* (CRP), Maddie Koolbeck* (CRJ), Danielle Franklin* (CRW), Emily Walvoord (CRX), Mykaela Brandt (LM), Dani Peyton (MAR).

SECOND TEAM: Courteney McCrary (CRP), Rachel Broghammer (CRJ), Katlyn Andersen (CRX), Jazz Royster (CRW), Courtney Major (LM), Paige Hendrickson (CRK), Stephanie Botkin (CRK).

HONORABLE MENTION: Kaitlyn Davidson (CRJ), Dani Stromert (CRJ), Madison Meier (CRK), Kaylese Johnson (CRK), Shanice Cheatham (LM), Sara Strauel (LM), Michalyn Mohr (MAR), Beth Knapp (MAR), Alisa Weiland (CRP), Cyerra Hutchins (CRP), Abby Herb (CRW), Tasha Roundtree (CRW), Alex Bartz (CRX), Kayla Armstrong (CRX).

* Unanimous

Saints top wounded Hawks for trip to state

It's nothing new for the Xavier girls to go to the state basketball tournament.

They've been there eight times in the past 14 years under Coach Tom Lilly. But not since 2008.

So for the six seniors on the Saints roster (four of them starters), the 50-43 victory over Prairie in the regional final Tuesday night at Linn-Mar means their first trip to Des Moines.

"These senior girls and the younger players on the team, too, now know what all that summer work was about," Lilly said. "All the practices, all the workouts. This is what it was for. To make it back to the state tournament."

As the lone Metro representative in the tournament, Class 4A fifth-ranked Xavier (18-5) will face fourth-ranked Ankeny (20-3) next Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. at Wells Fargo Arena.

After a scintillating start to their season, the resurgent Prairie Hawks ended the year at 12-10.

If not for a gutsy comeback by some very resilient young players of their own, Prairie could easily have lost the game with Xavier in the first minute of play.

On its first possession, sophomore point guard Madison Dellamuth's knee buckled on a hard drive to the bucket and she left the floor in pain. She did not return to action and Coach Steve Doser said the extent of the injury will not be known until she's evaluated.

Her loss was incalculable, although her teammates stepped up in her absence.

"Coming into the game, we knew that Dellamuth was going to be tough to guard," said Annie Dale, Xavier's spunky senior point guard. "We wanted to pack the lane to keep them from driving. So to lose her right off really  hurt them."

The suddenly depleted Hawks made just one shot out of nine attempts in the first quarter and committed five turnovers. With Dale scoring on two nifty drives, the Saints raced to an 11-0 start and led 15-2 after one period.

"Then," said Lilly, "we began to play very conservative and tentative. And we missed a lot of easy baskets.

"Instead of playing to win, we started to play not to lose. That's often when you lose."

Meanwhile, the remaining threats in Prairie's offensive arsenal continued to plug away with scrappy play. Junior Courteney McCrary popped in two quick 3-pointers and added two more buckets as the Hawks went on their own 12-4 run to close the gap to four at halftime.

Before fouling out late, she and junior Alisa Weiland along with sophomore Cyerra Hutchins kept the game close. When Weiland hit a trey to open the fourth quarter, the Hawks were back in the hunt at 32-32.

"What we stressed was to play in the present," Lilly said. "If you miss a shot, move on. And to stay mentally tough. In the end, we played just tough enough to win it."

Junior Kayla Armstrong made two layups in a row, the second coming off a feed from Dale, and the Saints were soon back up by five with five minutes to go. They could have salted it away from the free throw line, but were just eight for 17 down the stretch.

"That," said Lilly, "is uncharacteristic of our team."

Still, it was good enough to preserve the victory and send the girls to the state tourney.

"It was a little rocky at times tonight," Armstrong said. "It was a hard-fought battle. But we picked it up as a team. It was a good team win."

XAVIER (50): Emily Walvoord 6 1-3 13, Katlyn Andersen 2 6-10 11, Kayla Armstrong 5 1-5 11, Annie Dale 3 1-4 7, Alex Bartz 0 0-0 0, Maddie Bertsch 2 1-2 5, Sarah Dickes 1 0-1 3, Lisa Boomgarden 0 0-0 0, Ashley Stulken 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 10-25 50.

PRAIRIE (43): Katilyn Yanecek 0 0-0 0, Alisa Weiland 4 0-0 11, Courteney McCrary 6 1-2 15, Madison Dellamuth 0 0-0 0, Cyerra Hutchins 3 4-7 10, Emilie Rotter 0 5-8 5, Chrisandra Freeman 1 0-0 2. Totals 14 10-17 43.

Halftime - Xavier 19, Prairie 14. 3-point goals - Xavier 2 (Dickes 1, Andersen 1), Prairie 5 (Weiland 3, McCrary 2). Fouled out - McCrary.

Hawks fly past Dubuque Senior girls, 75-44

Courteney McCrary scored 20 points, Cyerra Hutchins added 19 and the Cedar Rapids Prairie Hawks flew past Dubuque Senior, 75-44, Saturday night in a Class 4A girls basketball regional semifinal at Prairie.

The Hawks (12-9) advance to play fifth-ranked Xavier in the regional finals Tuesday at Linn-Mar. The winner goes to the state tournament.

Prairie Coach Steve Doser said it was important for his struggling Hawks, who snapped a six-game losing streak, to get off to a quick start against Senior (10-13). The teams played Jan. 10 at Dubuque and Prairie had to make a comeback to beat the Rams, 81-67.

"We were behind most of the game up at Senior but hit a lot of free throws down the stretch and made a victorious comeback,”  Doser said.

Doser’s Hawks controlled Saturday's game from the start and coasted behind a stiff defensive effort.

Doser said he was wary of Senior because of its similarity to his club.

“They are a mirror image of us and I respect them,” remarked Doser.

Neither team was very tall, but quickness seemed to shine many times during this contest and three Hawks were in double figures. Sophomore Madison Dellamuth added 13 points.

Prairie made 20 of 29 free throws and Dubuque Senior was 8 for 16. Prairie had only seven turnovers to 20 by Senior.

DUBUQUE SENIOR (44):  Elizabeth Reuter 1 0-0 2, Kristie Sommer 6 3-3 19, Affrica Kimble 0 0-2 0, Jackie Kremer 0 0-0 0, Natalie Jacobsmeier 0 0-0 0, Katie Sommer 3 5-7 11, Savannah Frye 1 0-0 2, Emma Noel 4 0-2 8, Nakiah Kimble 1 0-0 2, Carrie Benedict 0 0-0 0, Makenzie Williams 0 0-2 0, Andrea Koster 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 8-16 44.

PRAIRIE (75): Katilyn Yanecek 3 2-2 8, Cyerra Hutchins 7 5-9 19, Alisa Weiland 4 0-0 9, Marisa Adams 0 0-0 0, Allison Neuhaus 0 0-0 0, Brianna Bennett 0 0-0 0, Allison Neuhaus 0  0-0 0, Courteney McCrary 7 4-5 20, Josie Wagner 0 0-0 0, Madison Dellamuth 4 5-7 13, Emilie Rotter 1 3-4 5, Taylor Sanders 0 0-0 0, Kiana Jackson 0 1-2 1. Totals 26 20-29 75.

Halftime - Prairie 39, Dubuque Senior 18. 3-point goals - Prairie 3 (Weiland 1, McCrary 2), Senior 4 (Kristie Sommer 4).  Fouls - Prairie 14, Senior 24. Fouled Out - Katie Sommer. Turnovers - Prairie 7, Senior 20.

Xavier cruises by Prairie, 56-29

“Defense can show up every night, while offense comes and goes.”

That’s how Xavier Coach Tom Lilly summed up his team’s performance after the fifth-ranked Saints put a stranglehold on Prairie for much of Friday night’s contest between Mississippi Division foes at Xavier.

It’s a philosophy he’s banking on as his team sprints into the postseason tournament next week.

Xavier punctuated its solid regular-season resume with a convincing 56-29 home win over the Hawks, balancing the season ledger between the two teams.

In their first meeting on Jan. 14, Prairie’s Courteney McCrary scored a last-minute floater to give the Hawks a two-point win. Since then the teams have experienced a dramatic reversal of fortunes.

Riding high in late January after eight consecutive wins, the 12th-ranked Hawks (11-9, 8-8) ran into a slew of tough teams and finished the regular season with six straight losses, while Xavier (16-5, 11-5) has triumphed in five of its last six outings. Its only loss was to No. 1 Iowa City West.

The Saints and Hawks both started Friday’s game in defensive lock-down mode, holding each other to three field goals apiece in the first period.

Xavier added height and depth to its defense to take control in the second period, dishing the ball freely to 6-foot-2 post Alex Bartz under the basket. Bartz scored five field goals and five of her teammates added points to outscore the Hawks 24-12 in the period.

The Saints were up 33-18 at the break.

“We worked a lot on high to low post but we also worked a lot on defense and defending the outside shooters because we know they’re a really good outside shooting team,” Bartz said of her team’s effort.

Upstart Prairie scored the first seven points of the second half and cut the lead to eight midway through the third period, but never got closer.

With a constant supply of fresh bodies on the floor, the Saints charged ahead with 15 fourth-quarter points. Prairie’s weary-looking squad didn’t muster a single bucket in the final period.

“In the fourth quarter, maybe conditioning and the amount of kids that we play was a factor,” Lilly said.

“Prairie expended a lot of energy both on the offensive and defensive ends of the floor with a short-handed team. We’ve been stringing in about 12 players. Some don’t have many minutes, but they came in and contributed.”

Xavier got points from 10 players and came close to achieving Lilly’s season-long goal of getting three players scoring in double figures. Bartz led the team with 12 points and six rebounds. Emily Walvoord added 10 points and Katlyn Andersen had nine.

The Hawks were led by McCrary with 12 points and five rebounds.

In spite of its roller-coaster season, Prairie finished the regular season with seven more wins than last year.

PRAIRIE (29): Kaitlyn Yanacek 2 0-0 4, Cyerra Hutchins 0 0-0 0, Alisa Weiland 1 0-0 3, Courteney McCrary 4 2-2 12, Madison Dellamuth 2 2-2 6, Emilie Rotter 2 0-1 4, Haley Meyer 0 0-0 0, Taylor Sanders 0 0-0 0, Abby Ganske 0 0-0 0, Marisa Adams 0 0-0 0, Josie Wagner 0 0-0 0, Allison Neuhaus 0 0-0 0. Totals 11 4-5 29.

XAVIER (56): Kayla Armstrong 3 0-0 6, Annie Dale 3 0-0 7, Katlyn Anderson 4 0-0 9, Emily Walvoord 5 0-0 10, Alex Bartz 5 2-2 12, Nicole Noonan 0 0-0 0, Ashley Stulken 0 0-0 0, Sarah Dickes 1 0-0 3, Lisa Boomgarden 0 0-0 0, Katelyn Winker 0 0-0 0, Maddie Bertsch 1 0-0 3, Hayley Deutmeyer 1 0-0 2, Morgan Breitbach 1 0-0 2, Lizzy Bailey 0 0-0 0, Allison Chorzempa 1 0-0 2. Totals 25 2-2 56.

Halftime – Xavier 33, Prairie 18. 3-point goals – Prairie 3 (McCrary 2, Weiland 1), Xavier 4 (Andersen 1, Dale 1, Dickes 1, Bertsch 1).