Xavier makes it 8 in a row

CEDAR RAPIDS — The Xavier Saints take a wave of momentum into the postseason.

Linn-Mar, meanwhile, faces a multitude of questions.

Class 4A sixth-ranked Xavier built a 14-point lead, then held off the Lions, 40-35, in a Mississippi Valley Conference girls' basketball contest Friday night at Ron Thillen Gymnasium.

It was the Saints' eighth consecutive win after a 7-6 start.

'We're playing pretty good basketball right now,' Saints Coach Tom Lilly said. 'Other than maybe free throws, I like where we're at.'

Xavier (15-6 overall, 10-3 MVC) finished second behind Iowa City West in the Mississippi Division. The Saints took control with a 9-0 run in the first quarter, and held the Lions (11-10, 7-6) to 16 points in the first three periods.

'We played a lot of good help defense,' Xavier's Kylie Brown said. 'We're feeling really good right now. We feel we can go pretty far (in the postseason).'

The Saints open 4A regional play at home next Saturday against Benton Community or Clear Creek Amana.

Linn-Mar, meanwhile, will try to pick up the pieces in time for its 5A regional semi against Dubuque Hempstead.

Lions Coach Jaime Brandt remains optimistic despite a head-scratching six-game losing streak.

'The way we'd been playing, this almost feels like a win,' Brandt said. 'I haven't seen that fight, that grit for a while.'

Xavier led 15-8 after a pedestrian first half, then broke it open and took leads of 24-10 and 30-16 before Linn-Mar got closer behind Kamryn Finley, a UNI recruit who finished with a game-high 20 points.

Finley's drive cut the deficit to 35-31 with 1:20 left. The Lions got within four points twice more before running out of time.

Brown paced the Saints with 12 points. Lexi Noonan and Caitlynn Daniels added 10 apiece.

Xavier enjoyed a 28-17 rebounding advantage.

CEDAR RAPIDS XAVIER 40, LINN-MAR 35

At C.R. Xavier

LINN-MAR (35): Macey Miller 0-1 0-0 0, Carly Spies 4-7 0-0 8, Ally Johnson 2-4 3-3 7, Lexi Frese 0-0 0-0 0, Kamryn Finley 8-16 1-4 20, Megan Renner 0-1 0-0 0, Carly Printy 0-2 0-0 0, Megan Murphy 0-3 0-0 0, Ellie Anderson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 14-35 4-7 35.

C.R. XAVIER (40): Kiana Stanek 0-6 0-1 0, Caitlynn Daniels 4-6 2-4 10, Kylie Brown 2-2 7-12 12, Lexi Noonan 4-7 2-2 10, Amelia Ivester 4-6 0-0 8, Emily Jasper 0-1 0-0 0, Maria Steffen 0-0 0-2 0, Jessica Callahan 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 14-29 11-21 40.

Halftime: Xavier 15, Linn-Mar 8. 3-point goals: Linn-Mar 3-13 (Miller 0-1, Johnson 0-1, Finley 3-6, Printy 0-1, Murphy 0-3, Anderson 0-1), Xavier 1-9 (Stanek 0-5, Daniels 0-2, Brown 1-1, Noonan 0-1). Team fouls: Linn-Mar 14, Xavier 9. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: Linn-Mar 17 (Spies 5), Xavier 28 (Daniels, Brown, Ivester 6). Assists: Linn-Mar 3 (three with 1), Xavier 8 (Daniels 3). Steals: Linn-Mar 7 (Finley 2), Xavier 6 (Daniels, Noonan 2). Turnovers: Linn-Mar 11, Xavier 12.

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