Second-half comeback gives Cedar Rapids Xavier Class 4A title over Bishop Heelan

Patience was a virtue for Cedar Rapids Xavier in the Class 4A championship game of the girls state basketball tournament Saturday.

The fourth-seeded Saints rallied from seven down at the half with a monster final two quarters to stun second-seeded Bishop Heelan, 54-40.

"It honestly hasn't fully set in yet," Xavier forward Riley Jonker said. "This is the best day of my life."

Lexi Beier hit two clutch 3-pointers, Jonker took over in the post and Libby Fandel was fantastic during the fourth quarter to help Xavier pull away. The Saints also played tremendous defense, limiting a potent Bishop Heelan team to 16 points over the final two quarters.

Xavier finished 20-6. Bishop Heelan ended with a 23-3 record.

Here is what we learned from Xavier's impressive comeback victory:

Pressure defense pays off for Xavier girls basketball

Xavier's full-court press completely threw Bishop Heelan off its game in the second half. The Saints stormed back from a 24-17 deficit to briefly take the lead in the third quarter. They went on another big run to start the fourth and never looked back.

"You've got to hand it to them, they have a really good press," Bishop Heelan's Brooklyn Stanley said. "We weren't really trying new things to try and break it and it's kind of tough when they're quick and long and trapping you on the sideline."

Xavier forced 19 Bishop Heelan turnovers, with 12 coming in the second half.

"Coach (Tom Lilly) walked in the locker room and said, 'We need to switch it up,'" Beier said. "We all took a breath and said, 'We're ready.' That's what we wanted to hear. We backed it up a little, stopped the ball from going through the middle and that was the big difference."

Lexi Beier is clutch for the Saints

Thanks to its press, Bishop Heelan briefly turned the tide midway through the third quarter. The score was tied 33-33 by the end of the quarter.

Then Beier and the press put Xavier up for good.

She hit a 3-pointer from the wing to put Xavier up 38-36 with 6:42 left in the fourth quarter. The Saints immediately followed up her basket by forcing a turnover off the press and Beier ended up with the ball right by the same spot she hit her previous shot.

This one was also nothing but net and the Saints were off and running.

"We've been shooting well on these baskets," Beier said. "It must be the Well. I don't know. We were letting them fly and they went in."

Xavier was 7 of 15 from 3-point range. Beier was 3 of 6 and Mary Kate Moeder was 3 of 4 from downtown.

Beier finished with 10 points and four steals, and Moeder scored 11 points.

Libby Fandel and Riley Jonker are fantastic for Xavier

Fandel was named captain of the 4A all-tournament team.

She had nine points, seven rebounds, two assists and two blocks for Xavier. That followed up her amazing 18-point, 10-rebound, seven-assist game against Dallas Center-Grimes in the semifinals — a 55-50 Saint victory in three overtimes.

She was glad to help send Xavier's five seniors out on top.

"It feels amazing," Fandel said. "Our team has worked so hard."

Jonker is one of those seniors. She saved her best for last, going for 13 points and five rebounds off the bench.

"I had a mismatch down in the post and knew we had to capitalize on that," Jonker said. "It was really successful for us."

Bishop Heelan will be back

The loss was a tough one to swallow for Bishop Heelan. The Crusaders had completely overwhelmed their first two state opponents, defeating Waverly-Shell Rock by a 54-33 score in the quarterfinals and Glenwood 68-51 in the semifinals.

But the good news for them is that there is a good chance they will be back in the 4A title game again next season. Starter Joslyn Verzal is Bishop Heelan's only senior and the Crusaders bring back two all-tournament selections in Stanley and Jada Newberg, plus double-digit scorer Kenley Meis.

"We're going to work hard and remember this feeling for next year," Stanley said. "This season was amazing. We all had a great time and we bought into the season to get here and we're going to do it again next year."

Newberg had 13 points, Meis had 10 points and eight rebounds, Merzal scored eight points, Stanley logged four points and five steals, and Maddie Demke scored four points for Bishop Heelan.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Xavier beats Bishop Heelan for Iowa girls basketball Class 4A title