Rough stretch, rough day for Xavier girls

CEDAR RAPIDS -- This isn't a time to get hung up on wins and losses.

For Cedar Rapids Xavier, it's a two-week stretch of survival and improvement.

Class 5A second-ranked West Des Moines Dowling jumped on the 4A No. 5 Saints from the start and posted a 55-31 triumph as part of the Rivalry Saturday girls' basketball event at the U.S. Cellular Center.

"We're in a tough part of our schedule right now, but we knew it would be tough at the beginning of the season," said Xavier Coach Tom Lilly.

Tough is an understatement.

In a two-week post-Christmas stretch, Xavier's slate features Davenport Assumption, Cedar Rapids Washington, Valley, Cedar Rapids Kennedy and West Des Moines Dowling.

That's not the recipe for a gaudy win-loss record. But then again, Xavier lost nine games last year and won a 4A state championship.

The Saints slipped to 6-5 with Saturday's outcome.

"We have to continue to improve our basketball IQ," Lilly said. "We have to play smarter, know when to attack and when to back off and run our offense."

Valley (10-0) jumped out to a 25-9 lead after a quarter, 37-16 at halftime.

Point guard Madi Agey paced the Tigers with 13 points. Hannah Fuller added 12 on 6-of-7 shooting from the floor.

Morgan Breitbach scored 10 for Xavier. Maddie Bertsch posted six points and seven rebounds.

WEST DES MOINES VALLEY 55, CEDAR RAPIDS XAVIER 31

At U.S. Cellular Center

WDM VALLEY (55): Madi Agey 4-9 4-4 13, Whitney Fuller 1-6 3-6 5, Grace Vander Weide 3-12 3-4 9, Hannah Fuller 6-7 0-2 12, Kasey Feldt 2-3 2-3 6, Courtney Carr 3-4 0-1 8, Emily Smith 0-2 0-0 0, Lexi Merritt 0-2 0-00, Taylor Steil 0-1 0-0 0, Leah Lodermeier 0-0 0-0 0, Jadyn Loecke 0-0 0-0 0, Mackenzie Ward 1-2 0-0 2, Jackie Feldt 0-0 0-0 0, Jamie Feldt 0-0 0-0 0, Casey Carr 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-48 12-20 55.

C.R. XAVIER (31): Abby Watson 0-5 0-0 0, Hayley Deutmeyer 2-10 1-1 5, Lizzy Bailey 2-2 1-3 5, Morgan Breitbach 4-6 2-3 10, Maddie Bertsch 3-8 0-2 6, Jenny Dickes 1-3 0-0 2, Meghan Joens 0-3 0-0 0, Erin Drahozal 0-2 1-2 1, Brylee Bastian 0-2 0-0 0, Claire Christianson 0-1 0-0 0, Madi Nelson 0-0 0-0 0, Kylie Tritle 1-1 0-0 2, Kiana Stanek 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 13-44 5-11 31.

Halftime: Valley 34, Xavier 16. 3-point goals: Valley 3-14 (Agey 1-2, W.Fuller 0-3, VanderWeide 0-4, C.Carr 2-2, Smith 0-1, Merritt 0-1, Steil 0-1), Xavier 0-2 (Dickes, Stanek 0-1). Team fouls: Valley 12, Xavier 17. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: Valley 35 (Vander Weide 9), Xavier 34 (Bertsch 7). Assists: Valley 8 (Agey, Vander Weide 3), Xavier 4 (Deutmeyer 3). Steals: Valley 11 (four with 2), Xavier 6 (Dickes 3). Turnovers: Valley 11, Xavier 23.