Early run, late run push No. 1 West past Xavier

CEDAR RAPIDS -- For a large portion of the game, Cedar Rapids Xavier was Iowa City West's equal. At least.

But the Class 4A top-ranked Women of Troy book-ended the contest with two big surges and earned a 56-37 Mississippi Valley Conference girls' basketball victory Friday night at Ron Thillen Gymnasium.

West (8-0 overall, 5-0 MVC) started it with a 23-2 blitz. Then, after the eighth-rated Saints (8-2, 4-2) crept within seven points early in the third quarter, the Women of Troy closed with a 13-1 run to pull away.

"Xavier's a great team and they made a nice run at us," said West's Ally Disterhoft, who led all scorers with 19 points. "Luckily, we were able to get it together."

It was the first semi-serious test for West, which came into the game averaging nearly 89 points per game and a 52-point margin of victory.

"This was a good experience, and I think we handled it well," said West Coach B.J. Mayer.

The Women of Troy appeared poised for another knockout early. Xavier came up empty on its first possession, missing five shots before West finally cleared a rebound.

West then scored the first 14 points, led 17-2 after a quarter and 23-2 early in the second when Brianna Sturtz and Shelly Stumpff delivered back-to-back 3-pointers.

"We're really good about getting out early," Disterhoft said. "We like to play up-tempo."

Xavier Coach Tom Lilly said, "We miss five shots in the first 8 seconds, or whatever it was, and that stuck a fork in our butts. It was like the air came out of our tires for a while."

The Saints, who missed 15 of 16 shots in the first quarter, stabilized midway through the second quarter and got within 32-16 by halftime. They kept pecking away after intermission; a pair of baskets by Hayley Deutmeyer late in the third quarter helped Xavier get within 41-33 entering the final period.

Then, a three-point play by Alex Bartz made it 43-36 with 7:32 to go.

But West struck with another run to get out of danger.

"I just wanted to let them play and see how they'd react," Mayer said. "In the first few games, the kids might have played a half. It's good to have one of these games and see what we're like."

Stumpff (14 points, 10 rebounds) and Tatum Klein (11 points) joined Disterhoft in double figures.

Bartz paced Xavier with 10 points. Emily Walvoord added nine.

Both teams conclude their pre-holiday slate on Tuesday. West hosts Linn-Mar; Xavier entertains Davenport Assumption.

IOWA CITY WEST 56, C.R. XAVIER 37

At C.R. Xavier

IOWA CITY WEST (56): Ally Disterhoft 7-11 4-5 19, Brianna Sturtz 1-1 0-0 3, Shelly Stumpff 6-11 0-0 14, Jessica Shull 1-2 0-0 2, Mckenzie Piper 3-9 0-0 7, Shahana Williams 0-3 0-0 0, Tatum Klein 4-8 3-3 11, Kelley Fliehler 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-45 7-8 56.

C.R. XAVIER (37): Kayla Armstrong 2-8 0-0 4, Annie Dale 1-6 0-1 2, Katlyn Andersen 1-5 0-0 2, Emily Walvoord 4-9 1-2 9, Alex Bartz 4-11 2-5 10, Nicole Noonan 0-2 0-0 0, Ashley Stulken 1-1 0-0 2, Sarah Dickes 1-4 2-3 4, Lisa Boomgarden 0-1 0-0 0, Katelyn Winker 0-0 0-0 0, Hayley Deutmeyer 2-3 0-1 4. Totals 16-50 5-12 37.

Halftime: West 32, Xavier 16.

3-point goals: West 5-12 (Disterhoft 1-2, Sturtz 1-1, Stumpff 2-2, Piper 1-3, Klein 0-4), Xavier 0-4 (Dale 0-1, Noonan 0-2, Dickes 0-1).

Team fouls: West 16, Xavier 15.

Fouled out: none.

Rebounds: West 33 (Stumpff 10), Xavier 28 (Bartz 6).

Assists: West 7 (Sturtz 3), Xavier 7 (Walvoord, Bartz 2).

Steals: West 7 (Stumpff, Williams 2), Xavier 8 (Dickes 4).

Turnovers: West 21, Xavier 12.