Deutmeyer leads Xavier girls past Iowa City West

IOWA CITY - Cedar Rapids Xavier junior Hayley Deutmeyer knows she has big shoes to fill for a Saints girls' basketball team that graduated three starters off last season's Class 4A state championship team.If her performance Friday night at Iowa City West is any indication, Deutmeyer appears more than game for the challenge.Deutmeyer scored a dozen of her game-high 20 points in the second half, and junior Morgan Breitbach hit four crucial free throws in the final 14 seconds to lift Class 4A No. 4 Cedar Rapids Xavier to a 49-46 victory over Iowa City West in a Mississippi Valley Conference game.“It feels great,” Deutmeyer said. “The last time we beat (West), it was my freshman year playing on the sophomore team.”Xavier (6-2, 4-2 MVC) trailed 31-28 entering the fourth quarter, but a 3-pointer from junior Lizzy Bailey tied the game at 31-31, sparking a 12-3 Saints surge over the first three minutes of the frame. A three-point play by a streaking Deutmeyer capped the run and gave Xavier its largest lead at 40-34 with 5:07 left in the game.“The team just found the (right) person and got them the ball and made the connection,” Deutmeyer said.West (3-5, 2-4 MVC) is undergoing a transition of its own, adjusting to life without 2013 Miss Iowa Basketball Ally Disterhoft, who currently calls Carver-Hawkeye Arena home. Junior Mikaela Morgan led West with 16 points, and brought her team within a point at 45-44 on a rebound and coast-to-coast drive.“Morgan kind of started taking over a little bit in the second half,” Xavier Coach Tom Lilly said. “We really didn't have an answer for her.”What Lilly and the Saints did have was a clutch performer at the free-throw line. Breitbach was 4 of 4 from the stripe in the final 14 seconds to keep the Women of Troy at bay. She finished with eight points.“Any time you play any team in the Mississippi Valley and win on their home floor, we'll take it,” Lilly said.Xavier returns from winter break Jan. 4 when it hosts Davenport Assumption. West travels to 5A No. 1 Iowa City High on Jan. 7.

AT IOWA CITY WEST

C.R. XAVIER (49): Morgan Breitbach 2 4-4 8, Lizzy Bailey 2 2-4 7, Hayley Deutmeyer 8 4-5 20, Abby Watson 2 0-0 4, Maddie Bertsch 1 4-4 6, Jenny Dickes 0 2-4 2, Meghan Joens 1 0-2 2, Brylee Bastian 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 16-23 49.

IOWA CITY WEST (46): Grace Tafolla 5 0-0 11, Ali Tauchen 2 0-0 4, Mollie Mason 2 0-1 4, Jessie Harder 1 0-1, Mikaela Morgan 6 3-5 16, Regan Steigleder 0 2-4 2, Emily Halverson 2 0-0 4, Bella Lozano-Dobbs 1 0-0 2. Totals 19 5-11 46.

Halftime - Xavier 21, I.C. West 21. 

3-point goals - Xavier 1 (Bailey), I.C. West 3 (Tafolla, Morgan, Harder). 

Rebounds - Xavier 24 (Joens 7), I.C. West 21 (Mason 6, Morgan 6). 

Total fouls - Xavier 15, I.C. West 20. 

Fouled out - None. 

Turnovers –Xavier 12, I.C. West 12.