Xavier marches to 7-0; tough stretch awaits

CEDAR RAPIDS -- The days of reckoning have arrived.

Alex Saxen scored 21 points, and Class 4A 10th-ranked Cedar Rapids Xavier handled Cedar Rapids Kennedy, 54-39, in a Mississippi Valley Conference girls' basketball game Friday night at Ron Thillen Gymnasium.

The Saints are 7-0 (4-0 MVC), but the strength of schedule ratchets up drastically from here to the holiday break. The next four opponents are ranked, starting with West Des Moines Dowling on Saturday.

"We're going to find out where we're at ... whether we've been winning with smoke or mirrors," said Xavier Coach Tom Lilly.

So far, they've been winning with defense. The Saints are allowing 28.4 points per game.

A fluid, athletic senior, Saxen scored eight straight points to give the Saints some separation in the third quarter. She hit a 3-point shot, converted a three-point play, then scored on a baseline drive to turn a 28-24 nailbiter into a more comfortable 36-24 margin.

"It's like everything else; you can't do it without your teammates," said Saxen, who made 8 of 11 shots from the floor and also led all rebounders with eight. "Whenever they give me a good pass that I can score on, I'll point my finger at them and say, 'Hey, thanks for that.' "

Friday, she was pointing most at Annie Dale, who distributed six assists.

So, how about it, Alex? Is this team ready for what lies ahead?

"We're always up for a challenge," she said. "We love competitive games in which we find out what we're truly made of."

Kennedy (2-3, 2-2) struck the first blow of the game, jumping to an 8-0 lead. But the Saints absorbed it, then asserted themselves steadily the rest of the way.

Katlyn Anderson's 3-pointer gave Xavier its first lead at 15-14, then Dale gathered an offensive rebound and scored at the buzzer to put the Saints in front, 23-17, at the half.

"We play hard, but we just don't have much of an inside game right now," said Kennedy Coach Dennis Roloff. "That's going to hurt us until we find out how to score in other places."

Olivia Meier paced the Cougars with 12 points. Anderson and Emily Walvoord added nine apiece for Xavier.

Kennedy is at Dubuque Senior on Tuesday.

AT C.R. XAVIER

C.R. KENNEDY (39): Olivia Meier 3-8 5-6 12, Cortney Strait 1-6 6-8 8, Kassi Nunnikhoven 1-4 0-0 2, Shauna Happel 1-6 0-1 2, Kali Hildebrand 2-4 0-0 4, Kaylese Johnson 1-3 0-0 2, Kristen Huebsch 0-0 0-0 0, Katherine Schulz 2-4 5-6 9, Mariah Simmons 0-1 0-0 0, Dominique Wright 0-0 0-0 0, Ashley Schlueter 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 11-36 16-21 39.

C.R. XAVIER (54): Annie Dale 2-8 1-2 6, Alex Saxen 8-11 3-5 21, Tyler Sampson 0-3 2-2 2, Emily Walvoord 4-5 1-2 9, Krissi Tow 2-5 1-2 5, Sarah Dickes 0-0 0-0 0, Katlyn Anderson 2-6 4-5 9, Alex Bartz 1-3 0-0 2, Lisa Boomgarden 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-41 12-18 54.

Halftime: Xavier 23, Kennedy 17.

3-point goals: Kennedy 1-11 (Meier 1-5, Strait 0-1, Nunnikhoven 0-2, Hildebrand 0-1, Johnson 0-1, Simmons 0-1), Xavier 4-12 (Dale 1-4, Saxen 2-3, Sampson 0-1, Andersen 1-4).

Team fouls: Kennedy 19, Xavier 19.

Fouled out: Meier, Sampson, Walvoord.

Rebounds: Kennedy 22 (Meier 4), Xavier 33 (Saxen 8).

Assists: Kennedy 6 (Meier, Happel 2), Xavier 12 (Dale 3).

Steals: Kennedy 3 (three with 1), Xavier 12 (Dale 6).

Turnovers: Kennedy 17, Xavier 21.