Xavier Girls Basketball

Fast start sends Saints past Wahawks

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.

McCrary lifts No. 9 Prairie by No. 8 Xavier, 42-40

As it always is, the losing coach talked about what his team did wrong and the winning coach about what his team did right.

The fact is, both the 4A ninth-ranked Prairie and the eighth-ranked Xavier played well enough to win Friday night in the Hawk gym. Or just poorly enough to lose.

It came down to Prairie having the ball last and Courteney McCrary sinking a clutch 10-foot floater with time expiring to lift the Hawks to a 42-40 girls basketball victory in a Mississippi Valley Conference game.

"We showed a lack of patience on offense," said Saints Coach Tom Lilly. "We just threw up some ill-advised shots. That's a recipe for disaster."

Prairie Coach Steve Doser, on the other hand, couldn't have been more pleased with his team's performance.

"I'm very proud of these girls," he said. "It was a defensive battle right to the end. I thought we did a terrific job shutting down their post players. And we're lucky to have girls who can hit big shots."

The game could not have been closer.

Xavier (11-4, 6-4) led much of the way, but its biggest lead in the second half was only three points. Though it led once briefly in a sluggish first half, Prairie (10-3, 8-2) had a lead only twice in the second half until the back-and-forth final two minutes.

For the game, the Saints shot 46 percent on 16 for 35 from the field and the Hawks hit 41 percent on 14 of 34 shooting. While the visitors made more field goals, they were 0-for-3 on 3-pointers. Prairie made 4 of 10 from long distance.

The difference was that the winners made 10 free throws and the losers eight. Xavier committed 16 turnovers to 14 for Prairie. The Saints held a slight rebounding edge, 20 to 18.

The outcome was decided on the final possession.

Prairie had inched ahead, 38-36, on a drive by McCrary, but Xavier tied it on two free throws by Alex Bartz.

The Hawks went ahead again on a pair of free throws by Cyerra Hutchins with 31 seconds left, only to have the Saints knot it up with 10 seconds to go on a layup by Emily Walvoord, 40-40.

Doser said he didn't call a set play during a timeout. "We just wanted to spread the floor and attack the basket," he said.

After the in-bounds pass, Prairie's Alisa Weiland dribbled into the lane and spotted McCrary open on the left wing. Although she was held under her average with eight points for the night, McCrary cooly canned the running jumper.

It was nothing new for her, however, since her two free throws last Friday with two-tenths of a second left beat Iowa City High, 45-44.

In a reversal of fortunes from years past, Prairie has now won seven straight. Xavier has lost two in a row by two points following a 40-38 loss to Washington on Monday.

"We're not about to throw out the baby with the bath water," said Lilly. "We're not going to change. We'll continue to do what we do, and that's try to take advantage of our height."

Doser said his team has found success by counting on different scorers and playing tough defense. "Defense wins games," he said.

Weiland led Prairie with 13 points with three 3-pointers. McCrary had nine rebounds and playmaker Madison Dellamuth had five assists and two steals.

For Xavier, Walvoord scored 13 and had seven rebounds. Bartz had eight rebounds.

XAVIER (40): Kayla Armstong 3 1-2 7, Annie Dale 0 3-5 3, Katlyn Andersen 0  0-0 0, Emily Walvoord 6 1-2 13, Alex Bartz 2 3-4 7, Sarah Dickes 1 0-0 2, Lisa Boomgarden 2 0-0 4, Ashley Stulken 1 0-0 2, Hayley Deutmeyer 0 0-0 0, Nicole Noonan 1 0-0 2. Totals 16 8-13 40.

PRAIRIE (42): Katilyn Yanecek 2 0-0 4, Cyerra Hutchins 2 4-6 8, Alisa Weiland 4 2-2 13, Courteney McCrary 3 2-2 8, Madison Dellamuth 2 0-0 5, Mackenzie Serbousek 0 1-2 1, Emilie Rotter 1 1-2 3. Totals 14 10-14 42.

Halftime - Xavier 19, Prairie 17. 3-point goals - Xavier none, Prairie 4 (Weiland 3, Dellamuth 1).

No. 9 Warriors nudge No. 5 Saints, 40-38

It took nine games, but Tasha Roundtree finally helped Cedar Rapids Washington win a basketball game.

Roundtree scored 10 points Monday as the ninth-ranked Warriors trimmed No. 5 Xavier, 40-38, in a Mississippi Valley Conference game at the Xavier gym.

Roundtree was suspended for the first five games of the season because she failed a class. "It was a gym class, believe it or not," she said a little sheepishly. "I learned my lesson. It won't happen again."

Washington won all five of its games without Roundtree to get the season started in the right direction. She returned Dec. 20, but the Warriors were upset by Waterloo West that night and fell into a three-game losing streak.

Finally, the 5-foot-7 senior was able to steer her team to victory with some clutch baskets, ballhandling and defense. She put the Warriors in somewhat of a pickle by missing two free throws in the final 16 seconds, both times failing on the front end of a one-and-one, but Washington managed to survive.

"It won't happen next time," she vowed. "If I'm put in the same situation, I've got to knock them down."

Xavier Coach Tom Lilly called a timeout with 11.1 seconds left and the Saints trailing 40-38 with the ball. Katlyn Andersen drove toward the basket, but lost possession with 6.3 seconds to go.

The Saints (11-3, 6-3) fouled Roundtree with 4.8 seconds left, giving her a chance to ice the game, but she misfired again.

Andersen began dribbling upcourt for Xavier, but launched a long shot from more than 40 feet before she had to shoot. Lilly said there were still 2.5 seconds left when Andersen fired from the wrong side of midcourt, but agreed it's not what cost his team the game.

"What cost us was the first five minutes," he said. "That's not new. We've seen that all season long. When you play against good teams, they pound it on you."

The Saints did not score for the first 4 1/2 minutes and trailed 7-2 after the opening quarter. The Warriors (6-3, 6-3) took a 13-2 lead in the early stages of the second period before Xavier got untracked.

Andersen hit a pair of 3-pointers to ignite the Saints and they clawed within 18-16 thanks to a five-point spree by Hayley Deutmeyer. Washington led 22-16 at halftime.

Xavier tied the game, 30-30, on a three-point play by Lisa Boomgarden with with 1:38 left in the third quarter and it stayed close the rest of the night.

Danielle Franklin gave Washington a 36-32 advantage, but Andersen responded with her fourth 3-pointer to pull the Saints within 36-35.

Roundtree hit a runner to give the Warriors a 38-35 edge. Kayla Armstrong hit a free throw for the Saints, making it 38-36, but Franklin scored again to make it 40-36.

Armstrong hit a layup to pull the Saints within 40-38 with 1:49 remaining, but neither team scored again.

Washington Coach Frank Howell was happy to escape with the victory and end his team's three-game slide.

"I try not to put too much into it and I really didn't talk to anybody about it, but I think everybody knew that we'd lost three games in a row. I think sometimes you get a little extra hunger," he said.

"We knew we had to come out and have more energy at the beginning of the game, and I think we did that."

Roundtree and Franklin led Washington with 10 points apiece.

Anderson topped Xavier with 14 points, but none of the other Saints scored more than five points.

Lilly regretted his team's slow start, which was later compounded by seven missed free throws, several missed layups and other missed scoring opportunities.

"I'm really disappointed," he said. "We have plenty of seniors on the floor that have played a lot of minutes."

Xavier senior Alex Bartz, who averages 7 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.5 blocked shots, got into early foul trouble and did not score.

WASHINGTON (40): Herb 2 2-2 6, Kramer 1 0-0 3, Royster 3 0-0 6, Roundtree 4 2-4 10, Franklin 5 0-0 10, Klaus 2 0-2 4, Foreman 0 0-0 0, Hobbs 0 1-2 1, Bjornsen 0 0-0 0, Goodlove 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 5-10 40.

XAVIER (38): Armstrong 2 1-4 5, Dale 1 1-2 3, Andersen 4 2-2 14, Walvoord 0 2-2 2, Bartz 0 0-0 0, Stulken 1 1-2 3, Noonan 0 0-0 0, Dickes 0 0-0 0, Bertsch 1 0-0 2, Boomgarden 1 2-4 4, Deutmeyer 1 3-3 5. Totals 11 12-19 38.

Halftime - Washington 22, Xavier 16. 3-point goals - Washington 1 (Kramer), Xavier 4 (Andersen 4).

No. 5 Saints hold off Linn-Mar girls

Two Mississippi Valley Conference girls basketball teams on opposite trajectories collided Friday night at Linn-Mar.

They made some fireworks – but continued on their respective paths.

In a fight to the finish, the Lions came oh so close to avoiding their fifth straight loss before falling to the Xavier Saints, 39-34.

No. 5 Xavier (11-2, 6-2) won its fourth straight and its eighth victory in the last nine games. The Saints' only loss in the last month was to top-ranked Iowa City West.

Waging a rugged defensive battle, the Saints contained Linn-Mar’s shooters for most of the game and surged to a 13-point lead after three periods.

But the Lions (6-6, 3-5) refused to quit, exploding for 18 fourth-quarter points on the strength of four three-pointers.

Aided by Xavier’s cold free throw shooting, the Lions pulled to within three points on a Hannah Yearling triple with 10 seconds left in the game.

But the Saints’ Katlyn Andersen nailed two final free throws to seal the victory.

“Our coach tells us to slow it down and run some time off the clock, and we had to do that at the end,” said Xavier’s Alex Bartz, a 6-2 senior who had six rebounds and three blocks to go with six points.

“But they were fouling us and we had to go to the free throw line and we missed a lot of free throws tonight. But it all comes down to your mental state and staying relaxed.”

Xavier Coach Tom Lilly was happy with his team’s defensive effort in spite of the late scare.

“I thought that up until the point where they started knocking down triples we defended pretty well. At least we made them work hard for it. We boxed out, and our bigs defended  pretty decently and rebounded well.”

The Lions are looking to recharge their offense without senior post players Shanice Cheatham, who is out for the season with an ACL injury, and Rachel Thrune, who is out for a month.

“They’re missing a couple of kids tonight, basically their two starting post players,” said Lilly. “If they get one of them back, that’s 10 or 12 points, and that’s the difference in the game.

“Credit Linn-Mar for shooting well like we figured they were going to do. That’s what they do. They’ve got good shooters, and it’s just like next guy in when it comes to how well they shoot the ball.”

The Lions hung close to the Saints throughout the first half, trailing 8-6 after one period and 16-14 at the break.

But Xavier’s deeper squad began to wear them down in the third period, outscoring the Lions 13-2.

Linn-Mar point guard Mykaela Brandt, who led all scorers with 14 points, said she expects her team to resume its early season wining ways once it gains experience with a new combination of players.

“We’re all juniors right now since our injuries and things like that, so we’ve just got to keep working at it. Some people haven’t stepped onto the floor until a few days ago. You’ve just got to keep playing and look forward to the next game.”

Xavier hosts Washington on Monday. Linn-Mar plays at Dubuque Hempstead on Tuesday.

XAVIER (39): Kayla Armstrong 3 1-3 9, Annie Dale 1 2-6 5, Katlyn Andersen 1 5-8 7, Emily Walvoord 2 1-2 5, Alex Bartz 2 2-5 6, Nicole Noonan 1 0-0 2, Sarah Dickes 0 0-0 0, Lisa Boomgarden 1 1-3 3, Ashley Stulken 1 0-0 2, Hayley Deutmeyer 0 0-0 0, Katelyn Winker 0 0-0 0. Totals  12 12-27 39.

LINN-MAR (34): Courtney Major 4 0-0 9, Mykaela Brandt 4 4-6 14, Sara Strauel 0 0-0 0, Hannah Yearling 2 0-0 5, Kristen Eiles 0 0-0 0, Alexis Libenguth 0 0-0 0, Kelsey Duggan 0 0-0 0, Jenna Harms 0 2-2 2 , Carly Ryder 0 0-0 0,  Lannie Nietert 2 0-0 4 . Totals  12 6-8 34.

Halftime – Xavier 16, Linn-Mar 14. 3-point goals – Linn-Mar 4 (Brandt 2, Yearling, Major), Xavier 3 (Armstrong 2, Dale). Fouled out – None.