Tow gets tough after break

CEDAR RAPIDS - Krissi Tow called it a rollback. The more common term is a high-low game.Whatever the terminology, the Xavier Saints identified it. And executed it.Tow scored 17 of her game-high 19 points in the second half as Cedar Rapids Xavier came from behind to defeat Decorah, 45-34, in a non-conference girls' basketball game Tuesday night at Ron Thillen Gymnasium.“It was a point of emphasis at halftime,” said Xavier Coach Tom Lilly. “You've got to be able to shoot 1-footers. It's a lot easier than relying on 17- or 18-footers.”A strong-bodied 6-footer who Lilly said “owns some of our weight-lifting records,” Tow exhibited some touch to go with her brawn.She converted 8 of 10 shots, including a pretty left-handed hook that she converted into a three-point play to give the Saints (1-0) some breathing room at 39-32 with 3:06 left in the game.“We played well in the second half,” she said. “We knew what we wanted to do, and we wanted to do it for each other.“We've been working a lot on our rollbacks, and they worked for us (in the second half).”It was Xavier's season opener, and it looked that way through the first half. The Saints shot 25 percent from the field, and Decorah (1-1) used an 18-4 surge through the final 9:49 of the half to take a 21-15 lead into the locker room.Tow termed Lilly's halftime speech as “motivating.”Whatever the content, the Saints got the message. Xavier shot 63 percent in the second half and won going away.Alex Saxen's drive tied the game at 27-all with 1:40 left in the third quarter, then Tow scored from inside to give Xavier a lead it did not surrender.Saxen added 12 points. Emily Walvoord scored a modest two points, but contributed seven rebounds and five steals.Elly Arend led the Vikings with 10 points. Moran Lonning added nine points - all in a stretch in the first quarter that turned an 11-3 Xavier advantage into a 12-11 Decorah edge - as well as six rebounds and six steals.

CEDAR RAPIDS XAVIER 45, DECORAH 34

DECORAH (34): Elly Arend 3-10 4-4 10, Moran Lonning 3-9 1-2 9, Kelsey Strand 1-3 0-0 3, Savanna Klimesh 1-4 1-2 3, Karah Shindelar 0-5 1-3 1, Leah Broderick 2-5 0-0 4, Kayla Kregel 1-3 0-0 2, Emma Blanchard 1-4 0-0 2, Sierra Klimesh 0-4 0-0 0, Hannah Kuehner 0-0 0-0 0, Anna Madrigal 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 12-47 7-11 34

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C.R. XAVIER (45): Annie Dale 0-1 2-2 2, Alex Saxen 4-9 4-4 12, Katlyn Andersen 2-5 2-4 6, Emily Walvoord 1-4 0-3 2, Alex Bartz 0-8 0-1 0, Krissi Tow 8-10 3-3 19, Katelyn Winker 2-3 0-0 4, Sarah Dickes 0-3 0-0 0, Lisa Boomgarden 0-0 0-0 0, Jennifer Murtha 0-1 0-0 0, Nicole Noonan 0-0 0-0 0, Tyler Sampson 0-0 0-0 0, Rachel Wiltgen 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-44 11-17 45.

Halftime: Decorah 21, C.R. Xavier 15.

3-point goals: Decorah 3-7 (Arend 0-1, Lonning 2-3, Strand 1-2, Blanchard 0-1), C.R. Xavier 0-3 (Saxen 0-2, Andersen 0-1);

Team fouls: Decorah 20, C.R. Xavier 17.

Fouled out: Broderick.

Rebounds: Decorah 30 (Lonning, Shindelar 6), C.R. Xavier 37 (Walvoord 7).

Assists: Decorah 7 (Lonning 3), C.R. Xavier 13 (Saxen, Bartz 3).

Steals: Decorah 16 (Lonning 6), C.R. Xavier 10 (Walvoord 5).

Turnovers: Decorah 25, C.R. Xavier 26.