37 and 25! Libby Fandel carries Xavier past No. 1 Sioux City Heelan

DES MOINES — Tom Lilly isn’t done yet. And it feels like Libby Fandel is just getting started.

Add this performance to Fandel’s greatest-hits album: 37 points and 25 rebounds — the latter was an all-time state-tournament single game record — in eighth-ranked Cedar Rapids Xavier’s 71-57 win over No. 1 Sioux City Heelan in a Class 4A quarterfinal Tuesday afternoon at Wells Fargo Arena.

“It was up there, for sure,” Fandel said, smiling and nodding knowingly.

This was an upset on paper only.

“I’m not surprised with the outcome,” said Lilly, whose 40-year coaching career will conclude this weekend. “These kids are pretty resilient. Right now, they’re extremely coachable and caring for each other.

“We’ve still got one more game. Maybe two.”

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Xavier (20-4) will face No. 4 Norwalk (23-1) — a 56-54 winner over No. 5 Central DeWitt — in a 4A semifinal at 5 p.m. Thursday.

Who knows what Fandel might do next?

“Playing on the same team as Libby is a big privilege, and we don’t take it for granted,” Reese Komenda said.

“We were the only people that thought we were going to win, but we never had a doubt.”

The Saints’ superiority became apparent after a rocky first six minutes.

Heelan (21-3) shot to a 16-8 lead, but Fandel scored 11 points in a span of 1:42 at the end of the quarter, and Xavier led 22-21.

Then the Saints opened the second quarter with 15 consecutive points, and led 40-26 at halftime.

The margin got as large as 18 on three occasions in the third quarter, and never smaller than 12 in the second half.

A University of Kansas recruit, Fandel hit 13 of 31 shots (2 of 13 from 3-point range) and 9 of 12 from the line. Her 37 points pushed her career total to 1,938.

Her real mark came on the boards, though.

The 25 rebounds surpassed the old mark of 24 set by Stacey Schutjer (Crystal Lake WCLT, 2007) and Anna Kiel (Unity Christian, 2016).

Twenty of them came on the defensive end as the Saints claimed a 47-35 rebounding advantage.

“Libby was outstanding,” Lilly said. “Considering the moment and the bright lights. She wasn’t going to get outworked.”

And she wasn’t going to be denied. She did have sufficient help, though.

Freshman Samantha Dorrity came off the bench to score nine points and grab six rebounds. Taylor Rexroth added eight points and six boards. Komenda scored seven points, Madden Wilson six.

“I’ve been looking for this moment since I was a kid,” Dorrity said. “I’m thankful for this opportunity.”

Xavier has won 12 consecutive games.

“The way we’re playing, and the way our defense has grown, I wouldn’t have wanted to be the 1-seed either,” Fandel said.

Melina Snoozy led Heelan with 30 points. Abby Lee added 13.

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Cedar Rapids Xavier 71, Sioux City Heelan 57

Class 4A State Quarterfinal, at Des Moines

C.R. XAVIER (71): Madden Wilson 2-10 0-0 6, Jaselle Lang 1-5 1-2 4, Taylor Rexroth 3-6 0-0 8, Libby Fandel 13-31 9-12 37, Reese Komenda 3-6 0-0 7, Cayleigh O’Brien 0-0 0-0 0, Brooklyn Emerson 0-2 0-0 0, Samantha Dorrity 4-8 0-0 9. Totals 26-68 10-14 71.

SIOUX CITY HEELAN (57): Addison Kleis 2-2 0-0 6, Melina Snoozy 9-23 9-11 30, Trishelle Miller 4-9 0-0 8, Maddie LaFleur 0-1 0-0 0, Abby Lee 5-19 2-4 13, Colby Carroll 0-4 0-0 0, Shannon Cleary 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-58 11-15 57.

C.R. Xavier 22 18 20 11 — 71

Sioux City Heelan 21 5 20 11 — 57

3-point goals: Xavier 9-29 (Wilson 2-5, Lang 1-4, Rexroth 2-4, Komenda 1-1, Emerson 0-1, Dorrity 1-1), Heelan 6-19 (Kleis 2-2, Snoozy 3-8, Miller 0-3, Lee 1-3, Carroll 0-3). Team fouls: Xavier 18, Heelan 14. Fouled out: Wilson, Miller. Rebounds: Xavier 47 (Fandel 25), Heelan 35 (Lee 8). Assists: Xavier 13 (Fandel 4), Heelan 8 (Miller 6). Steals: Xavier 7 (Dorrity 3), Heelan 4 (four with 1). Turnovers: Xavier 9, Heelan 11.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com