Valuable playing time

CEDAR RAPIDS - This year's Xavier girls' basketball team consists of many underclassmen, including freshman Amelia Ivester and sophomores Kylie Brown, Lexi Noonan, Kiana Stanek and Maddix Stovie.

Ivester, Noonan and Stanek made their debut in the first game of the season, a 58-41 win over Decorah.

The Saints now are ranked 10th in Class 4A with a 9-4 record going into Friday's home game against Iowa City High.

This is Stanek's second year dressing for varsity, although last year she got her playing time on the sophomore team.

'Being on varsity as a sophomore is a really fun experience,” she said. 'The team is fun and full of humor and it has its ups and its downs but its all worth it.”

Stovie, who has scored four points this season, played in her first varsity game on Dec. 29. Although the Saints lost the game, she played the last few moments.

'I knew the varsity competition would be tough, and it was,” Stovie said. 'It just makes me want to work harder in practice. I love playing varsity with the upperclassmen that I have so much respect for. I can learn from them, too.”

The Saints are playing a mostly 5A schedule in the Mississippi Valley Conference.

'Dropping down classes has not changed the way we have prepared because we have to go into it as though we are playing a team in a higher class,” said Stanek, who has scored three points for the varsity.

Noonan leads the pack at 4.6 points per game and Ivester is averaging 3.5.