IOWA CITY - Xavier senior Hayley Deutmeyer eats junk defenses for breakfast and freshmen defenders for lunch.

Deutmeyer scored 20 points and helped rally Class 4A No. 4 Xavier to a 49-46 win over Iowa City West Friday in Iowa City.

"We found Deutmeyer in a mismatch," Xavier Coach Tom Lilly said. "They tried to play a little face-guard junk defense with their freshman (Regan Steigleder). We recognized it.

"A senior should be able to take advantage of a height mismatch, as well as a senior versus a freshman."

West High led Xavier, 29-23, midway through the third quarter when Deutmeyer hit two baskets and a free throw to fuel a 5-2 run.

She added a short shot and a driving "and-1" lay-up early in the fourth quarter to put Xavier ahead 40-34.

The 5-foot-9 Deutmeyer had the size and experience on West's 5-6 freshman.

"Hayley is really good everywhere," junior Morgan Breitbach said. "She went in and posted her up and got some easy looks."

"We planted Hayley inside, and she made back to back to back baskets," Lilly said. "That was a big swing for us."

West High (3-5) remained in the game thanks to some big plays of its own. Mikaela Morgan had a driving lay-up to cut it to 45-44 with 1:51 to play. Grace Tafolla hit a shot with 3.6 seconds left again to cut it to 47-46.

Both times Breitbach stepped to the line and iced a pair of foul shots.

"If I had to pick somebody to be on the line ... I would pick Breitbach," Lilly said. "At the end of the game, she wants the ball in her hands. She has confidence in her free throws."

Breitbach, a junior, has late-game state tournament experience in Des Moines, so a few foul shots in Iowa City were no big deal.

"I've done that before," Breitbach said. "When I do, I try not to think about the situation. I think about practice and put it in."

Breitbach was a forward last season, when the Saints won the Class 4A title, but learned how to handle the ball and became the Saints' point guard.

"She's not a natural point guard," Lilly said. "But we didn't have a point guard going into the season, and we felt we needed Morgan's offensive punch and demeanor and poise. She doesn't get rattled."

Neither team led by more than six points in a back-and-forth battle. Xavier (6-2) came through in the fourth quarter, taking the air out of the ball in the final minute.

"We were hoping they'd foul; get anxious about the clock running down," Lilly said. "We made a mistake ... then they fouled us."

Deutmeyer led the Saints with 20 points. Breitbach had nine points. Meghan Joens led the team with 10 rebounds off the bench.

"It was really intense," Deutmeyer said. "We did what we had to do."

Morgan led West with 16 points. Tafolla had 11 points.

XAVIER (49): Morgan Breitbach 2-7 5-6 9, Lizzy Bailey 2-6 0-2 5, Hayley Deutmeyer 8-13 4-5 20, Abby Watson 2-6 0-0 4, Maddie Bertsch 1-8 4-4 6, Meghan Joens 1-4 0-2 2, Jenny Dickes 0-1 1-2 1, Brylee Bastian 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-45 14-21 49.

WEST (46): Regan Steidleder 0-2 2-4 2, Grace Tafolla 5-8 0-0 11, Mollie Mason 2-4 0-1 4, Mikaela Morgan 6-16 3-5 16, Emily Halerson 2-4 0-0 4, Bella Lozano-Dobbs 1-2 0-0 2, Jessie Harder 1-7 0-1 3, Ali Tauchen 2-4 0-0 4, Kristina Bauer 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 19-48 5-11 46.

Xavier          9  12   7  21 -- 49
West High  10  11 10  15 -- 46

3-point goals - CRX 1-4 (Breitbach 0-1, Bailey 1-2, Deutmeyer 0-1), West 3-12 (Tafolla 1-4, Morgan 1-2, Harder 1-5, Bauer 0-1). Rebounds - CRX 33 (Joens 10, Bertsch 6), West 32 (Morgan 9, Mason 7). Turnovers - CRX 11, West 11. Total fouls - CRX 15, West 20. Fouled out - Lozano-Dobbs.