Xavier Girls Basketball

Lilly sees state champs as underdogs

Xavier girls basketball coach Tom Lilly has modest goals for his team, but they often translate into monumental achievements.

He's won four state titles with the Saints, including a surprising run to the Class 4A crown last year, but it starts with the basics.

"Our goal has always been kind of simple," Lilly said Monday on the first day of practice. "First of all, we want to be competitive. We don't want anyone sitting their starters down in the fourth quarter because we weren't competitive. That's the worst thing in the world as a coach."

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6 Metro girls make INA all-state

Dani Franklin of Cedar Rapids Washington and Ashley Stulken of Xavier have been named first team all-state in girls basketball by the Iowa Newspaper Association.

Franklin helped the Warriors reach the state tournament and was named first team all-state in Class 5A. Stulken helped the Saints win a state title and was named first team in Class 4A.

Abby Herb of Washington, Madison Dellamuth of Cedar Rapids Prairie and Paige Hendrickson of Kennedy were named third team all-state in Class 5A.

Michalyn Mohr of Marion High School was named second team all-state in Class 4A.

Ally Disterhoft of Iowa City West was named Miss Basketball.

Xavier celebrates 25th state title

Don't be alarmed if you walk into the gym at Xavier High School and see a few people hanging from the rafters.

They'll simply be attaching another state championship banner to the ceiling, something they've done many times before at Xavier.

The Saints collected the 25th state title in the brief 15-year history of the school Saturday night when the girls basketball team won the Class 4A championship in Des Moines with a thrilling 53-52 victory over the Harlan Cyclones.

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Franklin, Stulken named all-state by Register

Dani Franklin of Cedar Rapids Washington and Ashley Stulken of Xavier have been named to the all-state girls basketball teams by the Des Moines Register.

Franklin, a 6-foot-1 junior, averaged 17 points and 7.5 rebounds and helped the Warriors reach the quarterfinals of the Class 5A state tournament. She was named second team all-state in Class 5A.

Stulken, a 6-foot-2 senior, averaged 9.5 points and 7.2 rebounds and helped the Saints win the Class 4A state title Saturday night. She blocked 42 shots this season, including 14 in three games at the state tournament.

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