Lilly's milestone on hold

CEDAR RAPIDS — The milestone will have to wait.

Kennedy Dighton scored 12 of her game-high 16 points in the fourth quarter, and Cedar Rapids Jefferson spoiled the party with a 38-36 victory over Cedar Rapids Xavier in a Mississippi Valley Conference girls' basketball game Friday night at Ron Thillen Gymnasium.

'We knew it wasn't going to be easy. They were going to bring a lot of energy because they wanted to get (Xavier Coach Tom Lilly) that 500th win,' Dighton said. 'So we had to bring just as much energy, and we were able to push through it.'

Lilly's next opportunity for No. 500 is Tuesday at home against Davenport Assumption. He is 499-221 in 31 seasons overall, 311-119 in 18 years at Xavier.

'I'm not worried about that right now,' Lilly said. 'I just want this team to get to .500. Tonight, that was brutal basketball.'

Jefferson (5-4 overall, 4-2 MVC) led virtually the whole way, taking its largest lead at 32-21 on Emily Oler's baseline shot with 5:34 left.

The Saints (3-5, 2-4) almost stole it at the end. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Lexi Noonan and Kiana Stenek cut the margin to 36-34 with 30 seconds left. A traveling call gave Xavier possession with a chance to tie it or win it, but Dighton got her hands on a loose ball in the paint, then hit the clinching free throws with 7 seconds remaining.

'I'm speechless,' Jefferson Coach Jason Edwards said. 'You think about where we were last year, and the kids have worked hard to get better.

'Against a legendary coach like Tom, I have a ton of respect for him ... but I'm glad he has to wait another night (for 500).'

The Saints managed just 15 field goals in 51 attempts, a rate of 29.4 percent, and scored a single basket in the third quarter.

Xavier rallied from an 11-5 deficit at the end of the first quarter to take a pair of two-point leads, but Erin Kuba and Avery Guy drilled a pair of 3-pointers to put Jefferson in front, 21-17, at halftime.

Guy's trey was a somewhat-desperation stepback as the Xavier students counted down the clock — a few ticks prematurely.

'All I heard was the countdown,' Guy said. 'I was surprised as anybody that it went in.'

Guy added eight points and four assists for the winners.

Noonan paced Xavier with 13 points and 10 rebounds. McKenna Andersen added seven points and nine rebounds. Xavier finished with a 40-27 rebounding advantage.

'We made it interesting,' Lilly said. 'We had a sense of energy at the end. We have to have a sense of energy when the game tips off.'

CEDAR RAPIDS JEFFERSON 38, CEDAR RAPIDS XAVIER 36

At C.R. Xavier

C.R. JEFFERSON (38): Samantha Kitterman 0-3 0-0 0, Avery Guy 3-6 0-1 8, Kylie Wise 0-1 1-2 1, Kennedy Dighton 6-9 3-5 16, Emily Oler 2-8 0-0 4, Sparkle Melton 1-2 0-0, Erin Kuba 1-6 0-0 3, Kaylee Donner 0-3 2-4 2, Erica Oler 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 14-39 6-12 38.

C.R. XAVIER (36): McKenna Andersen 3-11 0-0 7, Lexi Noonan 5-15 2-6 13, Jenny Dickes 2-6 1-1 5, Amelea Ivester 1-3 0-0 2, Meghan Jones 1-6 0-2 2, Kylie Brown 2-5 0-0 4, Kiana Stanek 1-1 0-0 3, Hannah Helms 0-0 0-0 0, Maria Steffen 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 15-51 3-9 36.

Halftime: Jefferson 21, Xavier 17. 3-point goals: Jefferson 4-10 (Kitterman 0-1, Guy 2-4, Dighton 1-1, Em.Oler 0-1, Kuba 1-3), Xavier 3-12 (Andersen 1-5, Noonan 1-2, Dickes 0-2, Stanek 1-1, Steffen 0-2). Team fouls: Jefferson 11, Xavier 15. Fouled out: Dickes. Rebounds: Jefferson 27 (Dighton 9), Xavier 40 (Noonan 10). Assists: Jefferson 8 (Guy 4), Xavier 5 (Noonan 2). Steals: Jefferson 8 (Kitterman 3), Xavier 8 (Andersen, Dickes 2). Turnovers: Jefferson 18, Xavier 18.

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