(VIDEO) 2nd-half charge sends Linn-Mar back to state

CEDAR RAPIDS -- If Tom Lilly had the No. 1 draft pick to start a team from scratch, and the pool of players consisted of everyone he'd coached against in 20-plus seasons, he wouldn't hesitate."I'd take that kid right there," he said.He pointed at Kiah Stokes.Stokes scored 20 of her 30 points in the second half as second-rated Linn-Mar clawed past No. 15 Cedar Rapids Xavier, 48-30, in a Class 4A girls' basketball regional final Tuesday night at Jefferson High School.The Lions (21-2) advanced to the state tournament for the fourth straight year. The defending champions will play No. 10 Ankeny in the first round at 11:45 a.m. March 2 at Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines."It's great," said Stokes, the University of Connecticut recruit. "A lot of girls don't get to do this in their career, and I get to do it four times."Xavier (15-8) held a 19-16 halftime lead, but the Lions ruled the game after intermission.They made 10 of 14 shots from the floor in the second half and pulled away."We came out more aggressive," Stokes said. "We got the first-half jitters out of the way. We weren't going to lose tonight."Linn-Mar outscored Xavier, 20-4, in the third quarter to build a 36-23 cushion, and the margin didn't sway below 10 points in the fourth period.Stokes made 11 of 19 shots (7 of 9 in the second half) and 8 of 10 free throws to go along with 11 rebounds and five blocks."She's a game-changer," Lilly said.While Stokes is making her fourth voyage to Des Moines, much of the rest of the team is untested in state competition."I've been there, watching, for all four of them," said Shanice Cheatham, who came off the bench to score six points. "I'm so excited to get a chance to play out there."The game took on the same appearance as the two regular-season contests between these teams. The Saints stayed around for a while. But Stokes and Linn-Mar were too much."We came out, we knew we'd have to fight hard," said Xavier's Alex Saxen, who disclosed that she will play for NCAA Division-II Missouri Western next year. "They have 6-4 who's going to UConn. We had to come out fighting, and we did."After Stokes scored the first five points of the game, Xavier answered with the next 10 points and held the lead the remainder of the first half.Xavier enjoyed an 11-3 rebounding advantage in the first quarter; Linn-Mar outboarded the Saints, 26-15, the rest of the way."They were very physical," Stokes said. "We knew they would be. We just had to play through it."Lions Coach Mike Brandt said, "We stood around too much the first half. Any time you play Xavier, you know they're going to throw all their effort at you."Krissi Tow led the Saints with seven points.

AT C.R. JEFFERSON

C.R. XAVIER (30): Annie Dale 2-8 0-0 5, Alex Saxen 3-7 0-0 6, Tyler Sampson 1-6 0-2 3, Emily Walvoord 0-5 0-0 0, Krissi Tow 3-10 0-0 7, Alex Bartz 2-5 0-0 4, Katlyn Andersen 1-3 0-0 2, Sarah Dickes 1-1 0-0 3, Lisa Boomgarden 0-1 0-0 0, Rachel Wiltgen 0-0 0-0 0, Jennifer Murtha 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 13-46 0-2 30.

LINN-MAR (48): Mykaela Brandt 1-1 0-1 2, Rachel Thrune 2-4 0-0 4, Kailee Karr 2-6 0-2 4, Jenna Eells 0-3 2-2 2, Kiah Stokes 11-19 8-10 30, Shanice Cheatham 1-1 4-4 6, Courtney Major 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-34 14-19 48.

Halftime: Xavier 19, Linn-Mar 16.

3-point goals: Xavier 4-11 (Dale 1-2, Saxen 0-1, Sampson 1-3, Tow 1-2, Andersen 0-2, Dickes 1-1), Linn-Mar 0-3 (Karr 0-1, Eells 0-2).

Team fouls: Xavier 16, Linn-Mar 3.

Fouled out: none.

Rebounds: Xavier 26 (Walvoord 9), Linn-Mar 29 (Stokes 11).

Assists: Xavier 2 (Sampson 2), Linn-Mar 12 (Karr 5).

Steals: Xavier 8 (Sampson, Tow 3), Linn-Mar 8 (Karr 3).

Turnovers: Xavier 17, Linn-Mar 17.