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).