Xavier takes down Waverly-Shell Rock, heading back to girls’ state basketball

CEDAR RAPIDS — As they all slapped on a mustache for the team photo, Cedar Rapids Xavier Coach Tom Lilly joined his team and relished the opportunity to conclude his illustrious coaching career in Des Moines.

The Class 4A eighth-ranked Saints avenged an early-season loss to ninth-ranked Waverly-Shell Rock, leading wire-to-wire in a 67-50 3-point barrage regional final girls’ basketball game Tuesday night at Xavier.

The Saints (19-4) advance to the state tournament for the 17th time, and first since 2023.

“I have guys that have been on the bench with me this whole time,” the mustachioed coach Lilly said. “Bother-in-law, sister, they never miss games. As a result of this, we have this family.

“We have a bundle of people that we can’t thank enough and they’re loyal as a hound dog. My wife is probably the best coach in the family. I’m full of gratitude and extremely grateful for this moment in time. I’m happy for our kids, happy for the program.”

Lilly, who will retire from coaching when this run ends, is in his 40th season. He sports a 643-301 record, with 454 of those victories coming at Xavier.

Victory was not a given.

The Go-Hawks (19-3) toppled Xavier, 44-39, in Waverly on Dec. 7. The Saints shot 3-of-26 from 3-point range. Kansas-bound star Libby Fandel was held to 17 points on 1-of-9 shooting from distance.

There would be no such shooting woes on this night.

“We played them in the middle of the afternoon on Saturday after we played Prairie on Friday night,” Lilly said. “Prairie thumped us. I think we were more tired than we wanted to be and we shot the ball very poorly.”

Coming off a school-record 41 points in the regional semifinal, all Go-Hawk eyes were on Fandel. Double and triple-teamed anytime she touched the ball, Fandel took some time to get going. She drove and kicked to teammates who were able to knock down enough open looks to put Xavier up.

Fandel’s kick-out to Taylor Rexroth led to a 3 on the opening possession. The Saints never looked back.

“I think we did a great job tonight of playing with confidence and playing like it’s our last,” Fandel said. “(My teammates) did awesome, knocking down all those shots when I couldn’t get to the rim. They were wide-open and they can knock them down, too.”

Especially clutch was Jaselle Lang. Coming into the night averaging 7 points-per-game, the junior netted five 3s to finish with a career-high 18 points.

“Jaselle Lang was special,” Lilly said.

“It feels pretty awesome,” Lang said. “You just gotta be confident in yourself and confident in your shooting.”

Fandel heated up as well. She opened the game one-of seven from the floor, but the Saints were able to build a 21-15 lead. With 2:15 left in the half, Fandel caught a deflected shot and turned around for an easy bunny. It was just what she needed to get in a groove.

“It helped to get my fire back,” Fandel said.

She finished the half with a pair of 3s as the Saints took a 31-24 lead into the break.

Xavier turned up the heat in the third quarter. Now in her rhythm, Fandel went out for 12 in the frame, hitting another 3 to push the lead to 54-37.

The Go-Hawks ended the third quarter and began the fourth on a 7-0 run, trimming the lead to 10. Fandel calmly buried a 3 from five feet beyond the arc to regain momentum.

“Those kind of players are a product of hard work,” Lilly said of Fandel. “There’s nobody in the state of Iowa that has put in more shots, more days, than she has. For anyone who’s listening, if you want to be that good, you gotta put in the time. You gotta practice your craft.”

Anytime the Go-Hawks threatened to close the gap, Lang answered with a 3 of her own. Fandel finished with 29, going 5-of-10 from 3-point range. The Saints finished 13-of-26 from deep.

Sydney Bienemann led Waverly-Shell Rock with 18.

XAVIER 67, WAVERLY-SHELL ROCK 50

Waverly-Shell Rock (50): Lizzy Frazell 3-7 2-2 10, Brittney Bodensteiner 5-9 2-2 12, Sydney Bienemann 5-11 8-10 18, Addie Kruse 3-7 0-3 6, Megan Heyer 0-3 2-4 2, Anaka Ott 1-3 0-0 2, Addie Ott 0-0 0-0 0, Emma Smith 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 17-44 15-21 50.

Cedar Rapids Xavier (67): Libby Fandel 11-22 1-2 29, Madden Wilson 1-6 0-0 2, Jaselle Lang 6-13 1-2 18, Taylor Rexroth 2-4 0-0 6, Reese Kamenda 2-4 1-2 5, Samantha Dorrity 1-2 0-0 2, Brooklyn Emerson 2-2 0-0 5. Totals 25-53 3-6 67.

Halftime — Xavier 31, Waverly-Shell Rock 24. 3-point goals — Waverly-Shell Rock 2-10 (Frazell 2-5, Bienemann 0-1, Kruse 0-1, Heyer 0-2, Smith 0-1. Xavier 13-26 (Fandel 5-10, Wilson 0-2, Lang 5-10, Rexroth 2-3, Emerson 1-1). Rebounds — Waverly-Shell Rock 23(Bodensteiner 6, Bienemann 6) Xavier 27 (Fandel 6, Wilson 6, Kamenda 6) Total fouls — Waverly-Shell Rock 11, Xavier 17. Fouled out — none. Turnovers — Waverly-Shell Rock 11, Xavier 8.