Xavier girls rediscover the comeback formula

CEDAR RAPIDS - Trailing by double-digits at halftime to a crosstown rival, Cedar Rapids Xavier girls' basketball coach Tom Lilly decided it was time to get back to what his Saints do best.

Lilly scrapped the debut of a press break offense, which was intended to attack the Cedar Rapids Washington pressure defense, but instead resulted in double-digit turnovers and a 34-24 halftime lead for the Warriors.

'Whichever coach decided to do that, that coach should be fired,” Lilly said with a grin after Class 4A No. 9 Xavier ran away from Washington in the second half for a 66-50 victory last night in a Mississippi Valley Conference girls' basketball game at Ron Thillen Gymnasium.

'They recognized the fact that they were capable of playing better,” Lilly said. 'It's been a while since we had been victorious over Cedar Rapids Washington.”

After a second quarter in which Xavier (13-5, 8-2 MVC) was outscored 21-10, the Saints charged out of the locker room intent on playing their game, but it was midway through the third quarter before they finally broke through. Trailing 40-31, forward Madi Nelson came off the bench with a pair of field goals to pull the Saints within 44-41 after three quarters.

'It was nice to just be moving,” said Nelson, who finished with six points and four rebounds.. 'Get some nice open layups and work well with my team.”

The decisive fourth quarter was a Xavier blitz of the Warriors on both ends of the floor. Senior Lizzy Bailey opened with a game-tying 3-pointer that started a 9-0 Saints surge for a 50-44 lead.

'We knew Wash would come out and play really tough,” said Bailey, who poured in 11 of her game-high 16 points in the second half. 'We had to just relax, keep our composure, do what we do best.”

The Xavier lead ballooned to as large as 16 on a nifty bucket from Amelia Ivester as the Saints outscored Washington, 25-6, in the final frame.

'We like to run for our game,” Bailey said. 'We just had to lock down on ‘D,' get our rebounds and just go. Just take off, and that's what we like to do.”

Lexi Noonan pulled down seven rebounds for Xavier, while McKenna Andersen added 12 points and five assists. Kandis O'Donnell led Washington (10-7, 3-7 MVC) with 13 points, though just three after halftime. The loss snaps a six-game winning streak for the Warriors.

l Comments: douglas.miles@thegazette.com

AT C.R. XAVIER

C.R. WASHINGTON (50): Joniqua Clark 3 0-1 6, Anne Visser 3 2-2 8, Courtney Squires 2 2-2 6, Jessica Puk 2 0-0 4, Kandis O'Donnell 5 2-4 13, Lilly Hartman 0 0-0 0, Payton Bruner 2 0-1 4, Daris Corey 1 0-0 2, Emily Oler 1 3-4 5, Alexandra Semrau 0 2-2 2, Brittany Cullen 0 0-0 0, Jayla Pledge-Johnson 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 11-16 50.

C.R. XAVIER (66): Brylee Bastian 0 1-2 1, Lizzy Bailey 3 9-10 16, Lexi Noonan 5 0-0 10, McKenna Andersen 3 5-6 12, Morgan Breitbach 0 5-7 5, Claire Christianson 0 0-0 0, Jenny Dickes 0 2-2 2, Madi Nelson 3 0-0 6, Erin Drahozal 1 3-7 6, Amelia Ivester 4 0-0 8, Meghan Joens 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 25-34 66.

Halftime - Cedar Rapids Washington 34, Cedar Rapids Xavier 24. 3-point goals - Washington 1 (O'Donnell). Xavier 3 (Bailey, Andersen, Drahozal). Total fouls - Washington 25, Xavier 17. Fouled out - Semrau.