MVC Mississippi Division title belongs to Iowa City West, and West alone

IOWA CITY — With 15 assists, including 11 in the second half, Iowa City West was more than willing to share the wealth Friday night.

They had no intention of sharing a league title.

Ranked No. 8 in Class 5A, West wrapped up the MVC Mississippi Division girls basketball championship — solo — with a 64-56 victory over 4A No. 9 Cedar Rapids Xavier at West High School

“This was a big goal, and now we’ve achieved it,” Grace Fincham said. “We’re still hungry for more.”

The Trojans (15-6 overall) finished 11-3 in the MVC, a game ahead of Iowa City Liberty in the divisional standings. They had everything in front of them Friday, and they delivered.

“It meant a lot to achieve this,” Kate Van Waning said. “We didn’t want to share this.”

Each of West’s four senior starters scored nine points or more. A Drake University recruit, Fincham led the way with 19.

  Buy Photo

Abby Neumiller added 13 points. Van Waning and Ava Frese tallied 10 apiece, with Van Waning pulling down 12 rebounds and dishing out four assists.

The divisional championship is West’s first since 2022, shared with Waterloo West. The Trojans’ last outright title was in 2019.

Senior nights are emotional creatures anyway. This one struck an extra chord for West Coach Nate Frese.

“It’s bittersweet,” said Frese, father of Ava Frese. “I’ve known and coached these (seniors) since third grade. I can’t be more proud.”

Frese’s only child, Ava will head to the University of Arizona next year, where she be a baton twirler.

“(Basketball) is her side hustle,” Fincham said.

West is a high-volume 3-point-shooting team, and the long shots were falling Friday. The Trojans were 13 of 32 from distance.

Four of the 3-pointers came in a 12-2 third-quarter run that put the Trojans in control for good, 41-32. Two of them, both from Neumiller, came in a span of 25 seconds.

Xavier (11-9, 8-6) got within 43-39 late in the third, but no closer.

Samantha Dorrity paced the Saints with 16 points and seven rebounds. Madden Wilson and Jaselle Lang tallied 13 points apiece.

Iowa City West 64, Cedar Rapids Xavier 56

At Iowa City West

C.R. XAVIER (56): Madden Wilson 6-16 0-0 13, Brooklyn Emerson 1-6 1-2 4, Jaselle Lang 5-10 1-1 13, Reese Komenda 3-11 0-0 6, Samantha Dorrity 6-9 2-2 16, Cayleigh O’Brien 1-2 0-0 2, Kyanna Harbeck 1-3 0-2 2, Abby Driscoll 0-0 0-0 0, Macie Harting 0-0 0-0 0, Maizey Fisher 0-0 0-0 0, Gianna Pino 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-57 4-7 56.

IOWA CITY WEST (64): Ava Frese 4-8 0-0 10, Kate Van Waning 4-9 1-1 10, Abby Neumiller 4-10 1-2 13, Grace Fincham 6-10 4-5 19, Sasha Baldwin 3-9 0-0 9, Savannah Mathias 1-2 1-2 3, Olivia Headings 0-2 0-0 0, Ellie DeWaard 0-0 0-0 0, Olivia Scott 0-0 0-0 0, Taleen Rahhal 0-0 0-0 0, Callie Bruening 0-0 0-0 0, Kira Baldwin 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-50 7-10 64.

C.R. Xavier 14 10 15 17 — 56

Iowa City West 10 16 19 19 — 64

3-point goals: Xavier 6-20 (Wilson 1-5, Emerson 1-6, Lang 2-6, Dorrity 2-3), West 13-32 (Frese 2-3, Van Waning 1-3, Neumiller 4-8, Fincham 3-6, Baldwin 3-9, Mathias 0-1, Headings 0-2). Team fouls: Xavier 15, West 6. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: Xavier 29 (Dorrity 7), West 34 (Van Waning 12). Assists: Xavier 9 (Wilson 5), West 15 (Van Waning, Fincham 4). Steals: Xavier 8 (Lang 3), West 5 (Baldwin 2). Turnovers: Xavier 7, West 12.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com