KeaOnna Worley leads balanced Prairie attack in 65-51 win at Xavier

CEDAR RAPIDS — KeaOnna Worley is still listed at 5 feet, 3 inches.

And yet, her growth — her basketball growth — has been remarkable since last year.

The sophomore point guard posted a eyebrow-raising statistical line (17 points, six rebounds, seven assists, four steals) to lead a balanced attack, and Class 5A sixth-ranked Cedar Rapids Prairie defeated 4A No. 7 Cedar Rapids Xavier, 65-51, in a Mississippi Valley Conference girls’ basketball game Friday night at Ron Thillen Gymnasium.

“When I accepted the job here, I started watching film right away, and KeaOnna was someone that really stood out,” Prairie Coach Bruce Dall said. “She’s able to score like a 5-11 guard can.”

Four Prairie players scored in double figures: Asia Beale added 13 points, Nevaeh Diaz-Doolin 12, Emily Larsen 11. And Brynlie Hadenfeldt tacked on nine points and eight rebounds as the Hawks (3-0 overall, 1-0 MVC) beat their third straight top-10 foe.

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“We play team ball,” Worley said. “Everybody on this team can score. We trust each other, and we know what we can do.”

As for herself ...

“I think I’ve got more confidence this year,” Worley said. “I can trust my teammates, and they trust me with the ball.”

Despite her stature, Worley was fearless going into the lane, and scored on a variety of drives and floaters.

Beale and Diaz-Doolin were a combined 11 of 15 from the floor.

Prairie took control with a 12-2 run to finish the first quarter. The Hawks led 20-13 after one period, and didn’t surrender the lead.

A 16-5 push to open the second half gave the Hawks their largest lead at 48-33.

Friday marked Dall’s first experience at Xavier, and said, “It’s hard to win here. I love the environment here. This is basketball.”

Xavier’s Libby Fandel, a Kansas recruit, led the Saints (2-1, 0-1) with 24 points (16 in the first half) and 10 rebounds. Jaselle Lang added 10 points; Madden Wilson had eight points and 10 boards.

“Prairie is really good about being physical,” Xavier Coach Tom Lilly said. “We weren’t ready for that. I don’t know how you can simulate that in practice. Mentally, they just wore us down.”

| PHOTO GALLERY |

Cedar Rapids Prairie 65, Cedar Rapids Xavier 51

At C.R. Xavier

C.R. PRAIRIE (65): Nevaeh Diaz-Doolin 5-7 2-4 12, KeaOnna Worley 6-11 4-4 17, Brynlie Hadenfeldt 3-10 2-2 9, Emily Larsen 4-10 1-1 11, Asia Beale 6-8 0-1 13, Presley Estrada 1-5 0-0 3. Totals 25-51 9-12 65.

C.R. XAVIER (51): Madden Wilson 4-11 0-2 8, Jaselle Lang 3-4 3-5 10, Taylor Rexroth 2-3 0-0 6, Libby Fandel 10-25 2-2 24, Reese Komenda 0-6 0-0 0, Cayleigh O’Brien 0-4 0-0 0, Samantha Dorrity 1-4 1-2 3. Totals 20-57 6-11 51.

C.R. Prairie 20 12 16 17 — 65

C.R. Xavier 13 15 12 11 — 51

3-point goals: Prairie 6-17 (Diaz-Doolin 0-1, Worley 1-1, Hadenfeldt 1-4, Larsen 2-5, Beale 1-3, Estrada 1-3), Xavier 5-16 (Wilson 0-5, Lang 1-2, Rexroth 2-3, Fandel 2-5, Dorrity 0-1). Team fouls: Prairie 14, Xavier 14. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: Prairie 31 (Hadenfeldt 8), Xavier 36 (Wilson, Fandel 10). Assists: Prairie 10 (Worley 7), Xavier 5 (Fandel 3). Steals: Prairie 8 (Worley 4), Xavier 8 (Fandel 4). Turnovers: Prairie 15, Xavier 20.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com