Xavier girls basketball dominates Fox Valley Lutheran to win Cross-Town Shootout
By Dustin Riese
For AppletonSportsPage.com
APPLETON – Facing off for what was the annual Cross-Town Shootout, the Xavier girls basketball team traveled to Fox Valley Lutheran to take on the Foxes. Typically one of the better games in the area whenever this takes place, this was anything but as it was all Hawks from start to finish.
Led by Carsyn Stempa and her 20 points, Xavier used a pair of massive runs to blow the game open. A 19-0 run to begin the second half as the Hawks defense proved too much as the Hawks (6-2) took down the Foxes (2-6) 66-20 to obtain the Cross-Town Shootout Trophy.
“I am super proud of the effort of our girls tonight,” Xavier head coach Andy Vande Hey said on the win. “They truly lived our ‘Play Hard’ fundamental style of basketball that we preach every day. The win was great and the girls were super fun to watch.”
Had it not been for a pair of 3-pointers from the Foxes’ Lauren Movrich in the first half, who knows where this game would have gone as she did her part to keep the Foxes in it. The problem with that was she was the only offense FVL could muster early as Stempa started her massive night with an open three as part of the Hawks 12-0 run and 17-3 start to the game. Following another Movrich triple to make it 17-6, Stempa continued to have way both inside and out as she connected for five more points to stretch the lead to 22-9.
In desperate need of offense in a hurry, Reese Volhard connected on a tough runner in the lane to pull the Foxes within 22-11 before the Hawks ended the first half on an 11-2 run to build a 33-13 halftime lead. It only got worse from there as the pressure from the Hawks defense continued to force FVL into tough spots, leading to countless turnovers and easy baskets on the other end from Halle Vande Hey, Stempa and Elle Krull as the Hawks opened the second half on a 19-0 run and broke the game open 52-13. Pair that with their run to end the first half and Xavier went on a 30-2 run, which was too much for the Foxes to overcome.
“This wasn’t one of our better showings on the court tonight,” FVL coach Dave Wenzel said. “We didn’t shoot the ball well, didn’t take care of the basketball and didn’t execute when we needed to. Credit the Hawks’ defense and their ability to make things difficult for us. They are a very well-coached team with a ton of talent and they showed that tonight.”
It took the Foxes 10 minutes to score their first point of the second half coming off a Julie Nielsen free throw and that was followed by their first field goal off a rare Hawks’ turnover leading to the Jessica Steinke bucket on the other end to make it 53-16. FVL would only score four more points the rest of the way as the Hawks continued to get contributions from everyone on their roster with Annika Heimann, Kylee Standish and Alexandra Tylinski all picking up points down the stretch in the Hawks 66-20 win.
Along with the 20 points from Stempa, Krull added 16 points, with Tylinski picking up 10. FVL was led by Movrich and her six points with Steinke and Jaci Volp adding four points in the loss.
Xavier hosts Wrightstown for another nonconference game on Tuesday, while Fox Valley Lutheran is back in action Friday at home against Wrightstown in a North Eastern Conference matchup.