Xavier sprints past Vinton-Shellsburg, 67-25

CEDAR RAPIDS — The Xavier Saints gave Vinton-Shellsburg a swift kick out of the postseason, and gave Grinnell an eyeful in the process.

'I'd like to think we gave them something to think about,' McKenna Andersen said, referring to the Saints' next opponent.

Xavier scored the first 17 points of the game, tallied the first 16 points of the second half and blasted Vinton-Shellsburg, 67-25, in a Class 4A girls' basketball regional quarterfinal Wednesday night at Ron Thillen Gymnasium.

The Saints accumulated 23 steals and improved to 10-12. They'll face 14th-rated Grinnell on the road in a regional semifinal at 7 p.m. Saturday. The Tigers (15-6) drew a first-round bye, and witnessed Wednesday's rout.

'We're still a work in progress,' Xavier Coach Tom Lilly said. 'We'll put some more plays on the floor Saturday. We certainly respect Grinnell ... I don't know if we scared them a little tonight or not.'

The Saints were the superior team Wednesday, and played like it.

'We played with 100-percent effort,' Andersen said. 'We wanted to run and push the ball. When we do that, we're going to be successful.'

Lexi Noonan added, 'We got out and ran. We drove and kicked it, and we got our (posts) involved.'

Ten different Saints scored on a night in which Lilly substituted freely throughout. Andersen registered 14 points, six rebounds and six steals. Noonan scored all 12 of her points in the first half.

Kylie Brown and Kiana Stanek tallied eight apiece, and three others added six points, including Meghan Joens, who also grabbed nine rebounds.

All-stater Maci Griffith led the Vikettes (3-19) with 18 points, but the rest of the team managed just seven.

It took nearly 2 1/2 minutes for Xavier to score, but once the Saints got going, the game resembled a layup drill. Xavier collected 15 steals by halftime, at which time they held a 38-13 lead.

The Saints triggered the continuous clock early in the third quarter.

CEDAR RAPIDS XAVIER 67, VINTON-SHELLSBURG 25

At C.R. Xavier

VINTON-SHELLSBURG (25): Maci Griffith 7-18 3-5 18, Emily Blake 0-4 4-4 4, Jarrica Speidel 1-3 0-0 2, Lyndsey Cornell 0-0 0-0 0, Abby Gloede 0-1 0-0 0, LaDorshae Mull 0-2 1-2 1, Elly Gloede 0-1 0-0 0, Taylor Spies 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 8-31 8-11 25.

C.R. XAVIER (67): McKenna Andersen 6-13 0-0 14, Lexi Noonan 4-8 4-4 12, Jenny Dickes 1-2 0-0 2, Amelia Ivester 3-6 0-0 6, Meghan Joens 1-6 4-4 6, Kylie Brown 3-4 2-2 8, Brylee Bastian 0-1 0-0 0, Emily Jasper 2-3 2-3 6, Kiana Stanek 3-4 0-0 8, Hannah Helms 0-0 0-0 0, Maddie Kadlec 1-3 0-0 2, Maddix Stovie 1-2 1-2 3, Jessica Callahan 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-52 13-15 67.

Halftime: Xavier 38, Vinton-Shellsburg 13. 3-point goals: Vinton-Shellsburg 1-6 (Griffith 1-3, A.Gloede 0-1, E.Gloede 0-1, Spies 0-1), Xavier 4-10 (Andersen 2-5, Noonan 0-1, Bastian 0-1, Stanek 2-3). Team fouls: Vinton-Shellsburg 8, Xavier 10. Fouled out: Speidel. Rebounds: Vinton-Shellsburg 20 (Griffith 4), Xavier 32 (Joens 9). Assists: Vinton-Shellsburg 1 (Mull), Xavier 12 (four with 2). Steals: Vinton-Shellsburg 6 (Griffith 2), Xavier 23 (Andersen 6). Turnovers: Vinton-Shellsburg 26, Xavier 10.

l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com