WATERLOO - Cedar Rapids Xavier was ready for Waterloo West Tuesday night.

The ninth-ranked Saints jumped on the Wahawks early and didn't let up as they rolled to a 53-30 Mississippi Valley Conference girls basketball victory at Siddens Gymnasium.

Xavier, which improved to 12-4 overall and 7-4 in the MVC, erupted for 22 first-quarter points to build a 22-4 lead.

West buckled down on defense in the second period, allowing just nine points, but couldn't get its own offense untracked while falling behind 31-10 at halftime.

"They jumped out on us early and we lost our composure," said West Coach Anthony Pappas, whose team is adjusting to the loss of veteran Zinka Duric to injury. "We didn't handle their pressure and gave them way too many layups."

Xavier wanted to dictate the game with its defense, and did just that.

"I think that we found what we needed to do as far as a little ball pressure, and we shot the ball from the perimeter a little better than we have been in the past couple of games," said Xavier Coach Tom Lilly.

"We were looking for our shots and our kids were confident today. They found open opportunities and shot the ball."

The Wahawks regrouped at halftime and played the Saints nearly even for the final two quarters, but the 20-point deficit was too much to overcome.

"By the time we regrouped in the second half, the game was over," Pappas said. "We played hard and didn't give up.

"They were well-prepared tonight, they played hard and had a terrific game and they showed why they're a top 10 team in the state."

Blaire Thomas led the scoring for West (10-6, 5-6), knocking down 14 of her 16 points in the final two quarters. Haley Puk contributed seven points.


C.R. XAVIER (53): Katelyn Winker 0 0-0 0, Kayla Armstrong 6 3-4 15, Annie Dale 1 0-0 2, Hayley Deutmeyer 1 0-0 2, Sarah Dickes 1 0-0 2, Nicole Noonan 2 0-0 6, Hannah Chute 0 0-0 0, Maddie Bertsch 0 0-0 0, Katlyn Anderson 5 0-0 10, Morgan Breitbach 1 0-0 2, Allison Chorzempa 0 0-0 0, Emily Walvoord 2 3-6 7, Lisa Boomgarden 0 0-0 0, Ashley Stulken 2
0-0 4, Alex Bartz 1 1-2 3. Totals 22 7-12 53.

WEST (10-6, 5-6) - Ashley Hill 2 2-2 6, Ieashia Moore 0 0-0 0, Diana Lichty 0 0-0 0, Kortni Pabst 0 0-0 0, Makayla Stokes 0 0-0 0, Haley Puk 3 0-0 7, Hannah Swartzendruber 0 1-2 1, Natalie Fisher 0 0-0 0, Blaire Thomas 6 4-4 16, Jasmine Anderson 0 0-0 0. Totals 11 7-8 30.

Halftime - Xavier 31, Waterloo West 10. 3-point goals - Xavier 2 (Noonan 2), West 1 (Puk). Total fouls - Xavier 12, West 15. Fouled out - Thomas.