Xavier Girls Basketball

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).

No. 5 Saints bounce Hempstead, 55-29

The fifth-ranked Xavier Saints turned up the defense, demonstrated an outstanding passing attack and defeated Dubuque Hempstead, 55-29, in a Mississippi Valley Conference girls basketball game Tuesday night at Xavier.

The Saints led 6-2 two minutes into the game and never looked back. Coach Tom Lilly looked like a prophet with his pre-game predictions and expectations as he entered the final week of the regular season.

Lilly said he wanted “to get better as a team, as we are running out of time to get better.”

Lilly also wanted “to improve the passing game, use solid ball fakes, and set screens and use screens effectively,”  he said.

Mission accomplished.

The Saints (15-5, 10-5) threaded the needle with effective passing and got solid scoring from Katlyn Andersen with 17 points and Kayla Armstrong with 13 points. “It is one of our goals to have three kids in double digits if we can do it,” Lilly said.

Perhaps that was the only goal that didn’t come through during this 26-point conference victory. Emily Walvoord scored six of her seven points in the first half when Xavier built a 36-12 advantage.

Brittani Graves paced Hempstead (6-13, 3-12) with 11 points.

Ten players scored for Xavier. “I want this team to play with confidence as we enter the postseason,” Lilly remarked.

Xavier hosts Prairie on Friday.

HEMPSTEAD (29): Stephanie Tauke 1 0-0 2, Kaitlin Lattner 0 0-0 0, Megan Doty 0 0-0 0, Hailey Koeperich 0 0-0 0, Stephanie Cox 1 0-0 3, Ashley Dolan 3 0-1 6, Paige Yager 1 1-1 3, Abbey Ahlrichs 1 0-0 2, Brittani Graves 4 2-5 11, Hope Koeperich 1 0-2 2. Totals 12 3-9 29.

XAVIER (55): Katelyn Winker 0 2-2 2, Kayla Armstrong 6 1-4 13, Annie Dale 0 2-2 2, Hayley Deutmeyer 0 2-2 2, Sarah Dickes 0 0-0 0, Nicole Noonan 0 0-0 0, Hannah Chute 0 0-0 0, Maddie Bertsch 1 0-0 2, Katlyn Andersen 5  4-6 17, Morgan Breitbach 0 2-2 2, Lizzy Bailey 0 0-0 0, Allison Chorzempa 0 0-0 0, Ashley Stulken 1 2-2 4, Emily Walvoord 3 1-2 7, Lisa Boomgarden 0 0-0 0, Alex Bartz 1 2-2 4. Totals 17 18-24 55.

Halftime - Xavier 36, Hempstead 12. 3-point goals - Hempstead 2 (Cox 1, Graves 1), Xavier 3 (Andersen 3).

No. 5 Xavier stifles Linn-Mar

There are no shooting stars on the Xavier girls basketball team that downed Linn-Mar, 43-34, Friday night at home – just a galaxy of players who split playing time to keep the pressure on and share the offensive output.

The Saints (14-5, 9-5) used their relentless defense and running offense to contain the Lions and surge to a commanding 30-15 lead at the end of the third period.

Held to just five points in the second period and two points in the third, the scrappy Lions (9-9, 5-8) uncorked their offense with three triples to outscore the Saints 19-13 in the final quarter.

They pulled to within seven points, 38-31, with a minute to go in the game, but the Saints, who had embarrassed themselves with nine misses at the free throw line in the first half, hit seven of 10 freebies in the final two minutes to hold off the Lions.

Xavier senior point guard Annie Dale credited the win to her team’s smothering defense and solid post play.

“Lately we’ve been doing a new press where we just trap the inbounds right away and it’s been really effective. We always just try to run, run, run and then trap right away on the press and roll up and try to get layups," she said.

“We had the advantage inside tonight because of height, so we all just really tried to drive it and get it to the post and get people in foul trouble, and then if the posts weren’t open we’d kick it out because we have good shooters, too. Our posts came really focused and ready to play tonight.”

The balanced Saints were led by Katlyn Andersen with 11 points and Dale with nine.  Junior Sarah Dickes came off the bench to spark the defense and tally six points on two traditional three-point plays.

“I thought Sarah was outstanding,” Xavier Coach Tom Lilly said. “It’s not just the fact that she made layups under duress, but she hit the floor, hit the wall, and was able to bounce up and make a couple of free throws for some good old-fashioned ‘and-ones.’ She was able to defend and turn that into offense.”

With Andersen and Kayla Armstrong leading the Saints with averages of 8.8 and 8.4 points, respectively, Lilly would like to see a bit more firepower from his No. 5-ranked team.

“One of our team goals was to try to find three kids averaging in double digits, and we’re just a tad bit shy on that. Maybe that’s a goal that’s unattainable for our style," he said.

“We play a lot of kids. Our kids play about 22 or 23 minutes a game, so that’s about a quarter and a little bit more that they don’t have opportunities. Everybody wants to contribute and that’s been our style to this point.”

Linn-Mar, which had won three straight before Friday’s game, also applied tenacious defense, trading shots with Xavier in the early going to eke out an 8-6 lead at the end of one period. Xavier’s defense got the upper hand in the next two periods, forcing the Lions into a flurry of turnovers and desperation shots.

“Our goal is to be better each night out, and I thought we defended probably as hard and as well as we have,” said Lilly. “They got some triples on us in the end, but I just think that it was a team win, and we played Monday this week so we had three solid days to prepare.”

With the state tournament in his sights, Lilly said he wants his players to continue to build their defensive proficiency – and shore up their free throw shooting.

“You have to defend when it comes to tournament time, and you have to take care of the basketball and rebound it, and we need to shoot better free throw percentages," he said. "Our goal in a pressure situation is to get Andersen the ball and force them to foul her. She’s about a 90 percent free throw shooter, and we’ll take that.”

The Lions were led by Courtney Major with 11 points.

Linn-Mar plays a makeup game at home against Kennedy on Saturday. Xavier returns remains at home for a contest against Dubuque Hempstead on Tuesday.

LINN-MAR (34): Courtney Major 4 0-0 11, Mykaela Brandt 1 0-0 2, Sara Strauel 0 2-2 2, Hannah Yearling 0 0-0 0, Kristen Eiles 1 0-0 3, Alexis Libenguth 2 0-1 4, Jenna Harms 2 0-0 4, Lannie Nietert 2 1-2 5, Rachel Thrune 1 1-2 3. Totals 13 4-7 34.

XAVIER (43): Kayla Armstrong 1 1-3 4, Annie Dale 3 3-6 9, Katlyn Anderson 2 6-7 11, Emily Walvoord 2 2-4 6, Alex Bartz 1 3-6 5, Nicole Noonan 0 0-0 0, Ashley Stulken 1 0-0 2, Sarah Dickes 2 2-2 6, Lisa Boomgarden 0 0-0 0, Katelyn Winker 0 0-0 0, Maddie Bertsch 0 0-0 0, Hayley Deutmeyer 0 0-0 0. Team 12 17-28 43.

Halftime – Xavier 18, Linn-Mar 13. 3-point goals – Linn-Mar 4 (Major 3, Eiles 1), Xavier 2 (Armstrong 1, Andersen 1).

No. 5 Saints dominate depleted J-Hawks, 67-30

Jefferson dressed eight players for its girls basketball game Monday night at Xavier. The No. 5 Saints rotated 10 to 12 players on a regular basis.

But that wasn't the only big difference between the two teams.

The final score was a huge difference, too. The Saints dominated the J-Hawks, 67-30, at Xavier.

Jefferson (7-11, 2-11) has lost three starters with injuries for the rest of the season.

“It’s really disappointing for (Jefferson Coach Larry) Niemeyer and Jefferson to have to deal with so many injuries,” Xavier Coach Tom Lilly said. “I thought they could have been real tough this year.”

While the J-Hawks try to find their way, Xavier (13-5, 8-5) is rounding into form for a postseason run to the state tournament.

“Everyone has an opportunity,” junior Kayla Armstrong said about the team’s depth. “It was a good team victory.”

The big damage came early. The Saints jumped all over the J-Hawks, starting the game on a 10-0 run and finishing the first quarter with a 17-2 lead.

Armstrong jump started the Saints with 10 of her team-high 18 points in the first quarter. Six of her points came off steals that lead to easy baskets.

“Kayla anticipates well,” Lilly said. “She did a great job getting us off to a good start.”

“It is always good to come out strong and start good,” Armstrong added.

Xavier's inside came was slowed by hard-nosed interior defense by Jefferson junior Maddie Koolbeck.

The Saints eventually wore out Koolbeck as her help defense lacked and Xaiver sent multiple 6-footers at her in the middle.

“Maddie played really well at both ends of the floor,” Niemeyer said. “We didn’t give her much weakside help.”

Jefferson struggled against the stiff Saints defense, going just 5 of 17 in the first half. They trailed 32-11 at the break.

The Saints came out scorching hot in the third quarter, missing just one shot and piling on 23 points to bury the J-Hawks.

“We moved the ball around well and found opportunities to get shots from where they practice at,” Lilly said. “When you can do that it really helps.”

With three of her fellow starters out, all of which averaged double figures, Koolbeck put the offense on her shoulders, scoring 18 of her game-high 22.

“Maddie has really stepped up with three starters out. She plays hard,” Niemeyer said. “She shows lots of heart.”

Niemeyer could not say enough about Koolbeck’s efforts.

“She really came to play tonight,” Niemeyer said.

The Saints played everyone in the final quarter en route to a convincing victory.

Koolbeck hit from outside and got to the basket to score 10 of the J-Hawks 11 in the 4th quarter.

“She put it on the ground and went by us and she hit outside shots,” Lilly said on Koolbeck’s performance. “She really displayed an all-around game."

Senior posts Alex Bartz and Emily Walvoord added six points apiece for the Saints.

“They doubled our posts,” Armstrong said of her big night. “It was our turn to step up.”

Xavier hosts Linn-Mar on Friday while the J-Hawks host to top-ranked Iowa City West Friday night.

In the sophomore game the Saints made quick work of the J-Hawks with a 65-26 win.

JEFFERSON (30): Alleigha Church-Green 0 0-0 0, Maddy Blietz 1 0-0 2, Dani Stromert 2 0-1 5, Maddie Koolbeck 8 6-9 22, Kieley Brathwaite 0 0-0 0, Kylie Jonas 0 0-1 1, Hannah Towns 0 0-0 0, Molly Evans 0 0-0 0. Team 11 7-12 30.

XAVIER (67): Kayla Armstrong 6 5-6 18, Annie Dale 1 0-0 2, Katlyn Anderson 2 0-0 5, Emily Walvoord 3 0-0 6, Alex Bartz 3 0-0 6, Nicole Noonan 1 1-2 3, Ashley Stulken 3 0-0 6, Sarah Dickes 1 0-0 2, Lisa Boomgarden 2 1-1 5, Katelyn Winker 1 0-0 3, Maddie Bertsch 2 2-2 4, Hayley Deutmeyer 1 0-0 3, Hannah Chute 0 0-0 0, Allison Chorzempa 1 0-0 2, Lizzy Bailey 0 0-0 0, Morgan Breitbach 1 0-0 2. Team 28 9-11 67.

Halftime – Jefferson 30 Xavier 67. 3 point goals – Jefferson 0, Xavier 4 (Armstrong, Anderson, Winker, Deutmeyer). Total Fouls – Jefferson 14, Xavier 16.