Xavier Coach Tom Lilly likes to play Class 5A Mississippi Valley schools because he thinks it toughens his team up for the Class 4A state tournament.

He got what he wished for Friday night in the Saints' home opener when Class 5A No. 2 Iowa City High came calling and walked away with a 68-49 win over the Class 4A No.3 Saints.

Considering that the Little Hawks (4-0, 2-0 MVC) had beaten their first three foes by an average of 50 points, it might even be said that Xavier (3-1, 1-1) held them in check.

“They've been kicking the crap out of everybody,” Lilly summed up afterward. “I'm happy we made them sweat a little bit.”

In fact, he pointed out, “For a quarter-and-a-half, I thought we played pretty good."

The game was tied 21-21 with 5:10 to go in the first half.

“And they were nervous,” the veteran coach said of the powerhouse opponent that had whipped then-No. 10 Cedar Rapids Washington by 46 points on Tuesday.

But then City High's towering 6-foot-3 Haley Lorenzen tipped in a rebound and laid in another after a steal seconds later. And the Little Hawks were off to the races.

“They go on an 8-0 spurt, and that was it,” Lilly noted.

With the long and lithe Lorenzen scoring 18 of her 30 points by halftime, Iowa City stretch its lead to 36-29 and then outscored Xavier 17-7 in the third quarter to salt away the easy victory.

“She's a four-year starter and an all-stater,” Lilly said. “We were guarding her with girls who have very little varsity minutes. She just crushed us inside.”

While she seemed satisfied at times to set screens and pass off to teammates, Lorenzen looked like she could score at will over her much shorter defenders.

In what might be dubbed a sub-par performance, she made 13 of 22 shots (none more than a few feet from the basket) and pulled down 10 rebounds.

“We tried to double-team her,” said Saints senior Hayley Deutmeyer. “But we didn't do a very good job boxing out, and she got too many second-shot opportunities.”

The only Xavier player in double figures with 17, Deutmeyer was the one bright star for the home team.

“Coach told me to attack the basket,” she said. “And that's what I kept trying to do.”

In the end, Lilly chalked off the loss as a learning experience for his young squad.

“In February,” he said, “teams won't kick us that bad.”

IOWA CITY HIGH (68): Sara Blowers 0 0-0 0, Kiera Washpun 3 4-6 10, Sam Blowers 1 0-0 2, Courtney Joens 6 1-1 15, Haley Lorenzen 13 4-6 30, Saeah Plock 1 1-2 3, Peyton Koenig 0 0-0 0, Kenya Earl 2 3-3 8, Jess Onnen 0 0-0 0, Ronetta Jenkins 0 0-0 0, Lillie Christophersen 0 0-0 0, Emma Pradearelli 0 0-0 0, Venia Xayasene 0 0-0 0,Loshika Embery 0 0-0 0. Totals 26 13-18 68.

XAVIER (49): Morgan Breitbach 0 5-8 5, Lizzy Bailey 2 0-0 5, Hayley Deutmeyer 7 3-6 17, Abby Watson 0 0-0 0, Maddie Bertsch 2 3-4 8, Jenny Dickes 2 0-0 4, Meghan Joens 2 2-2 6, Erin Drahozal 0 0-0 0, Claire Christianson 1 0-1 2, Madi Nelson 0 0-0 0, Brylee Bastian 0 0-0 0, Kylie Tritle 1 0-0 2, Kiana Stanek 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 13-21 49.

Halftime – City High 36, Xavier 29. 3-point goals – City High 3 (Joens 2, Earl 1), Xavier 2 (Bailey 1, Bertsch 1). Totals foul – City High 19, Xavier 15. Fouled out – none.