Stokes scores 30; Lions headed back to state
Xavier girls basketball coach Tom Lilly said if his team could have played the game without a scoreboard they might have had a chance against second-ranked Linn-Mar Tuesday night.
“We came out the first half and played like we had nothing to lose, like it was a summer league game," he said. “Then, at the half, we looked up at the scoreboard and saw we were ahead by three. We saw the possibility of winning. It made it a different game, psychologically more than physical.”
In other words, the Saints (15-8) played the second half trying their best not to lose instead of just trying to win.
The Linn-Mar girls, meanwhile, came out of the intermission with but one mission:
Throw the ball over the top of everybody else to super-sized senior superstar Kiah Stokes and let her pop in buckets at will.
As a result, the Lions quickly erased a 19-16 halftime deficit with an 18-2 third quarter run and coasted to a 48-30 victory.
Last Updated on Friday, 25 February 2011 22:59