Xavier hopes regular-season slate kicks in

At 9-12, this hasn't been a typical girls' basketball season for Cedar Rapids Xavier.

But this is the time of year that a rugged schedule traditionally kicks in and makes the Saints a postseason beast.

'Our schedule, both in the (Mississippi Valley Conference) and our non-conference, is intended to get us better as long as it doesn't beat us down too bad,' said Xavier Coach Tom Lilly, who has guided four teams to state championships — most recently in 2013.

In a departure from most seasons, Xavier plays a first-round game instead of drawing a bye, then will play the following two games on the road.

The Saints open at Ron Thillen Gymnasium with an encounter with Vinton-Shellsburg (3-18) in a Class 4A regional quarterfinal. Tipoff is 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Xavier is one of two Metro teams that begin their postseason road Wednesday. The other is Cedar Rapids Prairie (10-11), which hosts Marshalltown (1-20) in a 5A first-rounder.

Everybody else in town starts Saturday with regional semifinals.

The Saints will be heavy favorites to advance Wednesday, but the degree of difficulty rises drastically after that. The winner will face No. 14 Grinnell in the regional semifinals, with No. 1 Western Dubuque looming on the other side of the bracket.

'I think we're playing better basketball right now,' Lilly said. 'We need to be collectively involved, and not be a one- or two-person team. When we're able to do that, we're a much bigger threat.'

The 3A postseason series reaches the regional-semifinal level Wednesday, and features an unlikely matchup at Marengo. Williamsburg (5-17) upset Benton Community in the first round while South Tama (11-11) took down No. 12 West Marshall.

'We led both (regular-season) games with Benton with four minutes to go, so we knew if we showed up and played hard, we'd have a chance,' Williamsburg Coach Aaron Feddersen said. 'South Tama is a tough matchup for us with (6-foot-2 Tieranny) Keahna in the middle.'

South Tama won both regular-season encounters with Williamsburg, 52-43 and 57-44.

'When the brackets came out, there were eight coaches in our region that looked at this and said, 'Hey, we can get (to state),'' Feddersen said. 'It's up for grabs.'

Among area 3A ranked teams, No. 2 Center Point-Urbana (21-1) hosts Oelwein, No. 9 Union (20-2) entertains Solon (13-9), No. 10 Monticello (17-5) meets River Valley Conference rival Cascade (13-10) at Anamosa, and No. 14 Mid-Prairie (13-8) plays at Central Lee (18-4).

WEDNESDAY'S CLASS 5A REGIONAL QUARTERFINALS

(All games, 7 p.m.)

Region 2

Des Moines North (1-19) at Urbandale (7-14)

Region 4

Davenport Central (0-20) at Muscatine (8-13)

Region 5

Marshalltown (1-20) at Cedar Rapids Prairie (10-11)

Region 6

Burlington (4-17) at Ottumwa (9-12)

Region 8

Ankeny (4-17) at Des Moines Roosevelt (8-13)

WEDNESDAY'S CLASS 4A REGIONAL QUARTERFINALS

(All games, 7 p.m.)

Region 2

Charles City (1-18) at Decorah (11-10)

Waterloo East (1-20) at Independence (8-13)

Region 3

Dubuque Wahlert (10-11) at West Delaware (10-11)

Vinton-Shellsburg (3-18) at Cedar Rapids Xavier (9-12)

Region 4

Clinton (3-19) at Clear Creek Amana (8-13)

Maquoketa (6-15) at DeWitt Central (14-6)

Region 5

Fort Madison (7-14) at Mount Pleasant (6-15)

Oskaloosa (3-18) at Washington (10-10)

WEDNESDAY'S CLASS 3A REGIONAL SEMIFINALS

(All games, 7 p.m.)

Region 4

Oelwein (11-11) at Center Point-Urbana (21-1)

Monticello (17-5) vs. Cascade (13-10), at Anamosa

Region 5

Solon (13-9) at Union (20-2)

Davenport Assumption (9-13) at Mount Vernon (14-8)

Region 6

South Tama (11-11) vs. Williamsburg (5-17), at Marengo

Mid-Prairie (13-8) at Central Lee (18-4)

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