Metro Sports Report

No. 11 Xavier girls tame Kennedy

Lexi Noonan poured in 24 points Tuesday night as the 11th-ranked Xavier girls basketball team defeated Kennedy, 52-37, in a Mississippi Valley Conference game at Kennedy.

Noonan made eight field goals and was a perfect 8-for-8 at the foul line as the surging Saints won their fourth straight game and raised their overall record to 6-3 heading into the holidays.

Kylie Brown pitched in 12 points for Xavier.

Xavier has defeated three Metro opponents in a row with triumphs over Linn-Mar, Jefferson and Kennedy. The Saints have held their nine  opponents to an average of just 39.8 points per game and nobody has scored more than 51 points against them all season.

Hailey Dolphin led Kennedy with 24 points, matching Noonan for game-scoring honors. The struggling Cougars lost for the fifth time in  their last six games and fell to 3-6 for the campaign.

The Saints held a slim 20-18 lead at halftime, but they outscored the Cougars 32-19 in the second half.

No. 2 Kennedy boys top Saints

Matt Berst popped in five 3-pointers and scored 17 points Tuesday night as the Kennedy Cougars downed the Xavier Saints, 62-51, in a Mississippi Valley Conference game at the Kennedy gym.

The Cougars, who are ranked No. 2 in Class 4A, raised their perfect record to 4-0. The Saints, who are ranked No. 9 in Class 3A, fell to 2-4 for the campaign.

Xavier point guard Matt Mims, who sprained his ankle last Friday against Jefferson, did not play for the Saints.

Drake Brewster and Jackson Foley contributed 11 points apiece for Kennedy.

Jackson Joens paced Xavier with 13 points. Bryce Schulte pitched in with 10 points. Max Techau, who began his prep career at Kennedy, finished with eight points and nine rebounds for the Saints.

Timmerman joins new MSR softball league

Cedar Rapids Kennedy grad Paige Timmerman has become the 25th college  player to join the new Iowa Women's Softball League that will begin  play this summer.

Timmerman, now a freshman at Luther College, hit .431 for Kennedy last  season with three home runs, 15 doubles and 43 RBIs, helping the  Cougars win the Mississippi Valley Conference title and finish with a  37-5 record.

Timmerman was named to the all-conference and all-Metro teams as a  sophomore, junior and senior. She served as Kennedy's captain last season and also was a member of the National Honor Society.

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Timmerman is a versatile athlete who can play the infield, outfield or  catch. She is the third Kennedy grad to enroll in the new league, joining Tianna Drahn (UNI) and Peyton Baskerville (Mount Mercy).

The Iowa Women's Softball League has been created by the Metro Sports Report to give collegiate players an opportunity to play in a competitive summer league and is the only program of its kind in Iowa.

The league is open to anyone who is currently playing softball at a  college in Iowa, as well as all Iowans who are competing at  out-of-state schools.

Webb, Guy spark J-Hawks by Saints

Matt Mims hobbled out of the trainer's room at Xavier High School Friday night on crutches and with a big bag of ice attached to his  sore right ankle.

It was that kind of a night for Mims and the Xavier Saints in their Mississippi Valley Conference game against Jefferson.

Royshawn Webb and Willie Guy III scored 18 points apiece as the  J-Hawks trimmed the Saints, 61-58, in a spirited game at Ron Thillen  Gymnasium.

The Saints roared back from a 15-point deficit in the fourth quarter  and had two chances to tie the game in the final seconds, but Spencer  Dempewolf and Jackson Joens missed 3-pointers.

Xavier got off to a good start and led 15-8 when Mims got hurt. He  kept playing for awhile and was in-and-out of the lineup the rest of  the night, but the junior point guard missed all six of his shots from  the field and scored only two points.

"We started out really good," said Xavier Coach Ryan Luehrsmann. "Then  I thought when Mims turned his ankle all the momentum swung their way.  And for whatever reason the rest of the guys were shaken a little bit  by seeing him go down.

"We were tentative from that point on against the zone, until the end  when we were down and it was an uphill battle."

Jefferson spanked the Saints, 20-5, in the second quarter with a 13-0  run and led 30-23 at the break. The J-Hawks extended their lead to  49-34 on a bucket by Webb with about 5 1/2 minutes left in the game  and still owned that 15-point bulge at 51-36.