Without Ollinger, J-Hawk ‘roller coaster’ hits a low

CEDAR RAPIDS - Her resolve cut through her tears.

'We're on an emotional roller coaster right now,” said Cedar Rapids Jefferson's Kennedy Dighton. 'But we're going to continue to work hard. We still have players. We're going to put in the work, and we're going to win some games.”

The J-Hawks' first chapter of the post-Ollinger era started well enough, but Class 4A 14th-ranked Cedar Rapids Xavier scored the first 17 points of the second half and ran away for a 50-22 Mississippi Valley Conference girls' basketball victory Friday night at Jefferson High School.

'We really picked up our intensity and played our game,” Xavier's Morgan Breitbach said. 'We knew they were going to come out strong and determined, but I think we kind or wore them out at the end.”

Breitbach posted 14 points (on 7-of-9 shooting from the field), and the Saints (5-3 overall, 4-2 MVC) feasted on takeaways. Xavier collected 20 steals and forced Jefferson (5-4, 4-2) into 28 turnovers.

'I really didn't want to play this team under this set of circumstances,” said Xavier Coach Tom Lilly. 'We knew they were going to rally around each other, but I think they expended an excessive amount of energy.”

The J-Hawks learned Wednesday that their top player - all-state junior Amanda Ollinger, a University of Iowa commitment - had opted to leave the team. She intends to enroll at Linn-Mar and finish out her high school career with the Lions.

'It definitely took everybody off guard,” Dighton said. '(Ollinger) has to do what she thinks she has to do. We support her in that, but we're going to move on.”

J-Hawks Coach Jason Edwards said, 'I think we're still in mourning a little bit in terms of adjusting. There are still a few tears. But the girls are committed and resolved to stay tight as a group.”

Jefferson led throughout the first 12 minutes. The largest lead was 13-8 when Avery Guy hit a 3-pointer with 7:32 left in the second quarter. The rest of the game belonged to the Saints, by a 42-9 margin.

Xavier scored eight straight points for a 16-13 lead and took an 18-15 advantage into the locker room. Then came the avalanche of steals and layups, that 17-0 run that put it away. Five different Saints scored in the deluge, with freshman post Amelia Ivester stepping out and hitting back-to-back 15-footers.

'That kind of jump-started us,” Lilly said. 'It gave us some energy. And Breitbach, she's had a couple good back-to-back games that carried into today.”

Breitbach added six steals and four assists to go with her 14 points. Lizzy Bailey added nine points. Ivester had seven points and seven rebounds.

Dighton paced Jefferson with 11 points. Guy added eight.

CEDAR RAPIDS XAVIER 50, CEDAR RAPIDS JEFFERSON 22

At C.R. Jefferson

C.R. XAVIER (50): Lizzy Bailey 3-11 1-2 9, McKenna Andersen 0-6 0-0 0, Morgan Breitbach 7-9 0-0 14, Amelia Ivester 3-3 1-2 7, Meghan Joens 3-8 0-0 6, Lexi Noonan 3-3 0-0 6, Madi Nelson 0-1 0-0 0, Jennifer Dickes 0-0 2-2 2, Claire Christianson 0-0 0-0 0, Erin Drahozal 2-6 0-0 4, Brylee Bastian 0-0 2-2 2, Kaitlyn Albert 0-0 0-0 0, Maddix Stovie 0-0 0-0 0, Kylie Brown 0-0 0-0 0, Kiana Stanek 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-47 6-8 50.

C.R. JEFFERSON (22): Mariah Robinson 0-3 0-0 0, Sam Kitterman 0-1 0-0 0, Avery Guy 3-7 0-0 8, Kylie Wise 0-7 0-0 0, Kennedy Dighton 5-11 0-0 11, Sparkle Melton 1-1 1-4 3, Cassandra Veglahn 0-0 0-0 0, Emma Rolwes 0-1 0-0 0, Emily O'Brien 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 9-31 1-4 22.

Halftime: Xavier 18, Jefferson 15. 3-point goals: Xavier 2-8 (Bailey 2-2, Andersen 0-3, Drahozal 0-3), Jefferson 3-11 (Guy 2-3, Wise 0-2, Dighton 1-6). Team fouls: Xavier 11, Jefferson 14. Fouled out: Robinson. Rebounds: Xavier 26 (Ivester 7), Jefferson 23 (Melton 7). Assists: Xavier 10 (Breitbach 4), Jefferson 5 (Guy 2). Steals: Xavier 20 (Breitbach 6), Jefferson 4 (Robinson 2). Turnovers: Xavier 13, Jefferson 28.

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