Quick-handed Cedar Rapids Xavier girls' basketball team drops Jefferson

CEDAR RAPIDS — The Xavier Saints rolled out a new defense Friday night.

'We're not very big, so we tried to play to our strength,' Coach Tom Lilly said.

It featured Caitlynn Daniels at the point. That's a strength.

Daniels swiped eight of Cedar Rapids Xavier's 18 steals, and the Class 4A 10th-ranked Saints rolled past Cedar Rapids Jefferson, 73-32, in a Mississippi Valley Conference girls' basketball game at Ron Thillen Gymnasium.

'I thought it went pretty well,' Daniels said. 'If we have active hands, and if everybody is talking and running, we're going to get a lot of steals.'

Daniels flirted with a triple-double, finishing with 15 points and eight assists to go with those eight steals before departing midway through the fourth quarter.

'My favorite part of the game is being able to pass,' Daniels said. 'Coach always says if everybody else doesn't have their eyes on me, they might get hit.'

Aree Beckman led the Saints (1-2 overall, 1-0 MVC) with 16 points. Libby Arnold chipped in 14 points and seven rebounds.

This was Lilly's first game back after missing Saturday's loss to North Scott with the flu. It was the first game he has missed in a head-coaching career that has spanned 34-plus seasons and more than 800 games.

'I still feel a little rough,' said Lilly, who spent three hours in the emergency room Sunday. 'I was freaking out. I never miss work. I never get sick.'

Xavier was in control from the start, leading 18-10 after a quarter and 37-19 at halftime.

'We've got to be better passing the ball against pressure,' Jefferson Coach Jason Edwards said after the J-Hawks (1-3, 0-1) committed 24 turnovers. 'With (Daniels) at the top of their defense, if we lose the ball, we'd better get back (on defense) in a hurry.'

Kalyn Wise led the J-Hawks with eight points.

CEDAR RAPIDS XAVIER 73, CEDAR RAPIDS JEFFERSON 32

At C.R. Xavier

C.R. JEFFERSON (32): Aliyah Walker 0-1 0-0 0, Kalyn Wise 4-11 2-2 8, Arianna Hawkins 2-7 0-0 4, Jenna Griffith 2-4 0-0 5, Grace Jellison 0-6 3-4 3, Aubrey Luvan 0-4 2-2 2, Bianca Phillips 0-0 0-2 0, Hannah Hoeger 2-4 0-0 5, Madison Denlinger 1-4 2-2 5, Kanvee Kaba 0-0 0-0 0, Holly Madsen 0-0 0-0 0, Camryn Abrams 0-0 0-0 0, Jada Platt 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 10-41 9-12 32.

C.R. XAVIER (73): Aree Beckman 7-14 1-2 16, Caitlynn Daniels 6-14 2-2 15, Aubrey Jones 3-6 0-0 6, Libby Arnold 5-11 3-4 14, Sophia Schmit 0-2 0-0 0, Brielle Bastian 2-3 1-1 5, Maya Karl 2-4 3-7 7, Mary Kate Moeder 2-2 0-0 4, Alexa Turner 0-0 0-0 0, Grace Ries 3-4 0-0 6, Isabella Barreto 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 30-61 10-16 73.

Halftime: Xavier 37, Jefferson 19. 3-point goals: Jefferson 3-13 (Walker 0-1, Wise 0-2, Griffith 1-2, Jellison 0-1, Luvan 0-2, Hoeger 1-2, Denlinger 1-3), Xavier 3-12 (Beckmann 1-4, Daniels 1-2, Arnold 1-4, Bastian 0-1). Team fouls: Jefferson 13, Xavier 12. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: Jefferson 29 (Jellison 9), Xavier 35 (Arnold 7). Assists: Jefferson 3 (three with 1), Xavier 16 (Daniels 8). Steals: Jefferson 4 (four with 1), Xavier 18 (Daniels 8). Turnovers: Jefferson 24, Xavier 9.

Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com