Libby Fandel’s school-record 41 points helps Cedar Rapids Xavier to regional semifinal win

CEDAR RAPIDS - Fun with Fandel.

That’s only if you played with, coached or rooted for the Cedar Rapids Xavier girls’ basketball team Saturday night. Or were just at Ron Thillen Gymnasium as a neutral observer.

To be on the tremendous senior’s opposing side, well, that was probably a different story.

“She’s phenomenal,” Decorah Coach Blake Moen said, after Fandel’s school-record 41 points helped Xavier to an 86-35 win in a Class 4A regional semifinal. “I don’t have a lot more words than that. It’s one thing to watch her on Hudl, it’s another to see her in person. Unfortunately it came against us.”

The University of Kansas signee scored at will to surpass her own previous school record of 37 points.

Fandel was so efficient, making 16 of her 24 shots from the field and all three of her free throws. That included hitting six of 10 3-point attempts.

She outscored Decorah, which is something you just don’t see. And she did it in about three quarters of play, considering the score, the continuous clock and that reserves played a lot of the second half.

“I’d say around the first quarter, the first half, it was kind of like just take it to the hole,” Fandel said. “But after that, I thought it kind of (came in the flow of the offense).”

“They all came pretty easy,” Xavier Coach Tom Lilly said. “Then toward the end, when she’d had enough, she was finding her teammates. Was being a good teammate.”

Fandel also had a game-high 11 rebounds, a handful of blocked shots at least a half-dozen assists. She had 18 points in the first quarter and 31 at halftime.

Phenomenal. As was Xavier as a whole, as the Saints forced 29 turnovers in the game, including on Decorah’s first six possessions. Grace Tangen led the Vikings (11-12) with 17 points.

So now it’s Tuesday’s regional final at home against ninth-ranked Waverly-Shell Rock. The Go-Hawks (19-2) have a superior record than Xavier (17-4), beat the Saints in Waverly in early December, 44-39, but this game will be at Ron Thillen Gymnasium because the Iowa Girls’ High School Athletic Union has Xavier ranked one spot higher, presumably because it plays in a primarily 5A conference.

“If I was their coach, I’m pretty sure they’re acting like they got screwed, because they beat us,” Lilly said. “So realistically they should be eighth and we should be ninth and going to Waverly. That’s what I’d be telling my kids.”

“I think we’ve definitely grown a lot from the beginning of the season,” Fandel said. “It’s going to be a good game. I’m glad that we get to play it at home.”

-----

AT RON THILLEN GYMNASIUM

DECORAH (35): Elizabeth Bucksa 4-6 3-5 11, Grace Tangen 5-11 7-10 17, Renae Wilson 1-3 0-0 2, Brooklyn Fromm 1-8 0-0 2, Clara Hjelle 0-6 0-2 0, Kelby Kerndt 0-0 0-0 0, Sydney Thompson 0-5 1-2 1, Natalie Stevens 0-0 2-2 2, Kera Walter 0-0 0-0 0, Ella Carlson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 11-39 13-21 35.

CEDAR RAPIDS XAVIER (86): Reese Komenda 2-6 2-2 6, Libby Fandel 16-24 3-3 41, Taylor Rexroth 0-2 0-0 0, Jaselle Lang 3-5 0-0 9, Madden Wilson 6-8 0-0 13, Samantha Dorrity 4-9 0-0 8, Cayleigh O’Brien 0-2 0-0 0, Brooklyn Emerson 0-4 0-0 0, Macie Herting 1-3 0-0 2, Ella Arens 0-0 0-0 0, Abby Driscoll 0-2 0-0 0, Gianna Pino 0-1 0-0 0, Keke Harbeck 1-1 0-0 3, Maizey Fisher 1-1 2-2 4. Totals 34-68 7-7 86.

Halftime - Xavier 50, Decorah 14. 3-point goals - Decorah 0-6 (Fromm 0-1, Hjelle 0-3, Thompson 0-2), Xavier 11-23 (Fandel 6-10, Rexroth 0-1, Lang 3-3, Wilson 1-2, O’Brien 0-1, Emerson 0-2, Herting 0-2, Pino 0-1, Harbeck 0-1). Rebounds - Decorah 36 (Bucksa 7, Tangen 7), Xavier 31 (Fandel 11). Total fouls - Decorah 8, Xavier 18. Fouled out - None. Turnovers - Decorah 29, Xavier 5.

Comments: (319)-398-8258, jeff.johnson@thegazette.com