Metro Sports Report

Tournament talk and other tidbits

The field has been set for this year's edition of the State Girls Basketball Tournament at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines next week. It was another banner year for the Mississippi Valley Conference as four of its 14 schools will be taking their respective acts on the road to the capitol city next week, three 4A teams plus Dubuque Wahlert in Class 3A.

As for the Metro area, it was a season of mixed results. One team will be busing to Des Moines, the Xavier Saints. With Xavier as the lone representative, this marks the fewest Metro teams participating in the state tournament since 2004, when Kennedy was the only school to make it to Des Moines.

I really don't think it was a "down" year for the Girls game in town, Some terrific individuals took the court this year, but a majority of the teams were very young this season.That youth led to a more balanced Metro scene. Injuries also took their toll and some of the Metro teams. Jefferson was an example, losing three starters from its lineup throughout the year. Linn-Mar also lost Shanice Cheatham to a major knee injury which affected its season.

Saints top wounded Hawks; off to state

It's nothing new for the Xavier girls to go to the state basketball tournament.

They've been there eight times in the past 14 years under Coach Tom Lilly. But not since 2008.

So for the six seniors on the Saints roster (four of them starters), the 50-43 victory over Prairie in the regional final Tuesday night at Linn-Mar means their first trip to Des Moines.

"These senior girls and the younger players on the team, too, now know what all that summer work was about," Lilly said. "All the practices, all the workouts. This is what it was for. To make it back to the state tournament."

As the lone Metro representative in the tournament, Class 4A fifth-ranked Xavier (18-5) will face fourth-ranked Ankeny (20-3) next Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. at Wells Fargo Arena.

Roundtree hurt as Warriors lose regional final

Tasha Roundtree was having the game of her life Tuesday night. And then disaster struck for the Washington Warriors.

Seventh-ranked Iowa City High advanced to the state tournament with a nailbiting 65-59 win over 13th-rated Washington in a Class 4A regional final at Kennedy High School.

The Little Hawks (17-6) will play No.2 Iowa City West (22-1) at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines next Wednesday at 10 a.m.

Cedar Valley boys exit to standing ovation

LONE TREE - They won 13 games, reached the second round of the state playoffs and gave the 10th-ranked team in the state a real scare Tuesday night.

All in all, Cedar Valley Christian enjoyed its first season as a member of the Iowa High School Athletic Association.

The Huskies made a spirited rally Tuesday before falling to Lone Tree, 76-63, in the Class 1A district semifinals at Lone Tree.