Andersen helps Saints clean up Johnston
McKenna Andersen had a big game for the Xavier girls basketball team Saturday night against Johnston, but it didn't matter.
The talented freshman still had to make sure the locker room was spic and span before she was allowed to go home, no matter how well she played.
Andersen scored 13 points as the Saints topped Johnston, 46-33, in a non-conference game at the Xavier gym.
Andersen is the only freshman on the team, but that's not why she drew clean-up duties after the Saints raised their record to 2-0.
"It's a different person every time," she explained after finishing her chores. "I just got today."
Andersen, a 5-foot-9 swing player, came off the bench to collect 13 points, two rebounds, two steals and two assists. She hit three straight 3-pointers in the first half and had 11 points at halftime to help spark a sluggish offense.
Johnston grabbed an early 8-2 lead, but the Saints used a 15-1 spurt to grab a 17-9 advantage. Andersen made all three of her 3-pointers during the 15-1 surge.
Coach Tom Lilly likes what he's seen of the 15-year-old ninth grader.
"We're ecstatic," he said. "We think she is somebody who can help us.
"First of all, I like the fact that she's confident enough to not be afraid as a freshman. That's got to be the No. 1 thing.
"She's got a nice stroke," he said. "We trust her at the foul line at the end of a game."
Andersen played AAU basketball for the Cedar Rapids Panthers when she was in the seventh and eighth grade, competing against girls who were a year or two older. She also played against her older sister, Katlyn, who played at Xavier and is now a freshman at the University of Northern Iowa.
"We shot together a lot," she said. "I played against her and her friends a lot."
McKenna is four years younger than Katlyn, but she was able to beat her older sister at times on the court. "Maybe. Occasionally," she said. "It probably goes back and forth."
Lilly told Andersen during the summer that he was promoting her to the varsity following her middle school days at Regis.
"I was excited," she said. "I was hoping so, but I didn't know if it was going to happen."
Lilly used all 13 of his players on a regular basis against Johnston. He might trim the rotation to 10 or 11 girls after Christmas, but for now he's looking for the right combinations and giving everyone a chance.
"We hope with the amount of people we play, maybe we can wear you out a little bit," he said. "I think Johnston got tired."
The Dragons (0-1) had only nine players in uniform. Two of them fouled out and three others finished the game with four fouls.
Xavier got 24 points from its substitutes and 22 points from its starters, with Andersen leading all scorers. Ashley Stulken finished with a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Sarah Dickes had seven steals.
Steph Wilkinson, a 6-1 senior, led Johnston with nine points before fouling out. The Dragons committed 33 turnovers in the 32-minute game.
Xavier (2-0) hosts Waterloo East on Tuesday.
JOHNSTON (33): Lehman 1 0-2 2, Larkin 1 4-4 6, Yocum 4 0-3 8, Towers 0 0-0 0, Robinson 1 001 2, Hinders 1 2-2 4, Handel 1 0-0 2, Wilkinson 2 5-6 9. Totals 11 11-18 33.
XAVIER (46): Armstrong 0 1-3 1, Deutmeyer 0 2-2 2, Dickes 2 1-4 6, Boomgarden 1 1-3 3, Stulken 5 0-2 10, Chute 0 1-2 1, Breitbach 2 0-1 4, Deignan 0 0-0 0, Watson 2 2-2 6, Bertsch 0 0-2 0, Bailey 0 0-0 0, Andersen 4 2-2 13, Chorzempa 0 0-2 0. Totals 16 10-23 46.
Halftime - Xavier 23, Johnston 19. 3-point goals - Johnston none, Xavier 4 (Andersen 3, Dickes 1). Fouled out - Handel, Wilkinson.
