Saints back to winning ways after ‘rough patch’

CEDAR RAPIDS — The Xavier girls' basketball team is ranked sixth in Class 4A with hopes to keep moving up.

The Saints, 10-6 after downing Cedar Rapids Washington, 59-28, on Friday, have won three in a row after losing three straight.

'We need to keep the end goal in mind,' senior guard Kiana Stanek said before the current win streak. 'We are going through a little rough patch right now, but we are all just going to keep working hard to overcome it and get another win streak going.'

The team is led by senior captains Kylie Brown, Lauren Cooling, Lexi Noonan and Stanek. The girls' goals have consisted of playing for each other and not themselves. This has helped Xavier a lot, especially in close games.

'I think the season has gone really well so far,' freshman point guard Caitlynn Daniels said. 'We have won some key games and have moved up in the rankings.'

The team as a whole has grown a lot over the past year. Last season, the Saints finished with a record of 10-13. This season, defense has gotten sharper, they are helping each other out more and team chemistry has strengthened.

'Most importantly is the overall chemistry of the players,' Coach Tom Lilly said. 'They have collectively worked for each other and have wanted the very best for their teammates. They have found that team sports go much smoother when they all win or lose as one, not a group of individual 'me guys' wanting just their own success.

'Great teams don't worry about anything other than the process of getting better in practice. So far, they are a very unselfish bunch and are supportive of one another.'

The Saints win streak includes victories over Dubuque Hempstead and Senior. The Saints are at Cedar Rapids Prairie Friday.