'It's been a while'

MARION -- Tom Lilly exited the locker room, exhaled and smiled a small grin.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" he said.

Class 4A fifth-ranked Cedar Rapids Xavier earned its first victory over Linn-Mar in five years, holding off the short-handed Lions, 39-34, in a Mississippi Valley Conference girls basketball game Friday night at Linn-Mar High School.

The top defensive team in the MVC (they allow a skimpy 36.2 points per game), the Saints (11-2 overall, 6-2 MVC) yielded just 22 points before Linn-Mar (6-6, 3-5) hit four 3-pointers in the final 1:25.

Xavier scored the final 13 points of the third quarter to break a 16-16 tie, and that surge put the Saints over the top as they beat Linn-Mar for the first time since the 2006-07 season.

The Lions had dominated the series during Kiah Stokes era. Now, the Saints have their own shot-blocker. Alex Bartz swatted seven shots Friday to go with six points and 10 rebounds.

"A lot comes from (assistant coach Dave) Sullivan," said Bartz, who has 58 blocks this season, including a school-record 13 against Davenport Assumption.

"He has worked with me a lot as far as using the hand closest to the shooter and not falling for the pump-fakes."

When Annie Dale made a free throw at the 1:36 mark, Xavier led by a seemingly safe 34-22 margin. Linn-Mar sank four treys from there on out -- the last one, by Hannah Yearling, made it a one-possession game at 37-34 with 10 seconds left.

Katlyn Andersen then drained two free throws to clinch it.

Andersen led the Saints with 10 points. Kayla Armstrong scored nine.

For now at least, Xavier has established itself as the Metro's top team. The Saints host Cedar Rapids Washington on Monday.

"We're still battling a learning curve, but I'm certainly happy where we're at," Lilly said. "We've got a shot blocker at the back of our defense, and that allows us to take more chances on the perimeter."

Xavier held on despite making just 12 of 28 free throws, 8 of 18 in the fourth quarter.

Linn-Mar dropped its fifth straight game. The Lions are without two starters; Shanice Cheatham suffered a torn ACL and will miss the remainder of the season while Rachel Thrune (team issue, according to Coach Mike Brandt) is expected back in February.

"We've got a lot of young kids that have stepped into bigger roles," Brandt said. "It's all a learning experience. We've got a lot of work to do. We're going to keep plugging away."

Mykaela Brandt paced the Lions with 14 points.

Linn-Mar is at Dubuque Hempstead on Tuesday.

C.R. XAVIER 39, LINN-MAR 34

At Linn-Mar

C.R. XAVIER (39): Kayla Armstrong 3-7 1-4 9, Annie Dale 0-7 2-6 2, Katlyn Andersen 2-4 5-8 10, Emily Walvoord 2-5 1-2 5, Alex Bartz 2-5 2-5 6, Sarah Dickes 0-2 0-0 0, Nicole Noonan 1-4 0-0 2, Ashley Stulken 1-2 0-0 2, Lisa Boomgarden 1-1 1-3 3, Maddie Bertsch 0-1 0-0 0, Hayley Deytmeyer 0-0 0-0 0, Katelyn Winker 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 12-38 12-28 39.

LINN-MAR (34): Hannah Yearling 2-7 0-0 5, Mykaela Brandt 4-7 4-6 14, Sara Strauel 0-0 0-0 0, Courtney Major 4-9 0-0 9, Alexis Libenguth 0-6 0-0 0, Kristen Eiles 0-2 0-0 0, Jenna Harms 0-3 2-2 2, Carly Ryder 0-2 0-0 0, Lannie Nietert 2-4 0-0 4, Kelsey Duggan 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 12-40 6-8 34.

Halftime: Xavier 16, Linn-Mar 14.

3-point goals: Xavier 3-9 (Armstrong 2-3, Dale 0-2, Andersen 1-1, Dickes 0-2, Noonan 0-1), Linn-Mar 4-13 (Yearling 1-2, Brandt 2-3, Major 1-5, Eiles 0-2, Harms 0-1).

Team fouls: Xavier 10, Linn-Mar 22.

Fouled out: Strauel.

Rebounds: Xavier 37 (Bartz 10), Linn-Mar 26 (Libenguth 6).

Assists: Xavier 6 (Bartz 3), Linn-Mar 2 (Brandt 2).

Steals: Xavier 11 (Armstrong 4), Linn-Mar 7 (Harms, Nietert 2).

Turnovers: Xavier 18, Linn-Mar 20.