A tough schedule once again is paying off for
Cedar Rapids Xavier at tournament time.
The fifth-ranked Saints, in the state tournament
for the 10th time, kept their composure during a furious late rally by Lewis
Central and held on to beat the seventh-ranked Titans 50-45 in the Class 4A
quarterfinals.
Sarah Dickes sank four
straight free throws in the final 19.7 seconds to secure the victory and
finished with 13 points to lead Xavier. Ashley Stulken
added 12, while Hayley Deutmeyer and Morgan Breitbach each scored eight.
Lewis Central's Aubrey Norville
scored 14 of her 28 points in the fourth quarter to lead her team's comeback
from an 11-point deficit with just under seven minutes left.
With the 6-foot-2 Stulken
forced to play cautiously because of four fouls, Lewis Central got the ball
inside to Norville and she responded with five
baskets on nifty turnaround moves or jump hooks.
Norville's final bucket cut the lead to 44-41 with 1:25
left, and teammate Paige Beacom made it a three-point
game again, 46-43, when she hit a short jumper in the lane with 52 seconds
remaining.
Lewis Central's Natalie Madsen then stole the ball, but the Titans gave
it back on a five-second call and Dickes made her
game-clinching free throws.
Norville finished 10 of 13 from the field, grabbed five
rebounds and made four steals. Beacom, Madsen and
Alexis Spielman each scored five points for the
Titans, who finish 20-4.
Xavier advances to a semifinal game at 8:30
Thursday night with a 15-9 record. The Saints play in the Mississippi Valley
Conference and eight of their losses were to Class 5A teams. The other was to
Davenport Assumption, which is ranked No. 1 in Class 3A.