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).