St. Edward holds off IC spurt

Trailing 50-35 with eight minutes left to play, Immaculate Conception staged its fourth comeback effort of the night to cut the lead to five at 59-54 with 29 seconds left in Tuesday's girls basketball game at St. Edward.

Despite the 19-9 run, the Green Wave offense proved to be too much for the Knights as St. Edward went on to win the Suburban Catholic Conference meeting 62-54. Prior to the SCC matchup, Immaculate Conception had allowed no more than 33 points in a single game.

Having sat out Friday night's game against Aurora Central with a sore ankle, senior guard Katie Yohn returned to the lineup to lead the St. Edward offense. Yohn showed no signs of pain or fatigue en route to 22 points, 7 assists, 5 steals, 7 rebounds and pair of blocks.

"I was a little nervous coming back but the foot is fine," said Yohn. "I wanted to play Friday, but I had to rest it. Still, I was glad to be back tonight. We had our ups and downs, but the team played a solid game. We have a lot of girls stepping up big to help this team."

St. Edward opened up the game with an 11-0 run capped off by a 3-pointer from Yohn.

Showing up to the 7 p.m. matchup at 7:05 p.m. due to bad weather, IC quickly warmed up cutting the lead to 13-9 after the first quarter. With 5 minutes remaining in the second, the Knights achieved their first and only lead of the game at 14-13 before St. Edward ripped off a 19-3 run to go up 32-17.

"We played hard, but they had three huge runs," said IC coach Dan Murray. "We'd battle back, but we couldn't stop the bleeding. Yohn is an excellent player. There is a reason she's been a top player in this conference for four years. She's a gamer. The entire St. Edward offense was strong."

Angie Cortez was unstoppable inside racking up 12 points for the Green Wave (7-2, 2-0) on the receiving end of five of Yohn's assists, while sophomore guard Vincenza Ranallo added 11 points and pulled down 6 boards.

"We're a young team," said St. Edward coach Michelle Dawson. "Each game, we're getting better and more comfortable. On any given night, different girls are stepping up. Katie is a leader out there, and she got everybody going. I was very pleased with Cortez who played a strong, smooth game, and Valerie (Gotheridge) added some very nice plays for us. "

Gotheridge finished the game with 4 points and 3 rebounds.

Mary Kate Manion led the Knight offense finishing with 18 points after scoring IC's first 9 points of the game, and went on to spark each of the team's four comeback runs.

"Mary Kate did a great job," said Murray. "She really went to the basket for us."

Late-game heroics were fostered by freshman guard Kaleigh Dempsey (8 points) and sophomore center Michelle Karges (7 points). The duo combined for 15 fourth quarter points.

"This is the best Dempsey's played all season," said Murray. "Karges stepped up nicely too. Consistency will be the big thing. Coming back shows a lot of character, but you cannot give a team like St. Edward too many chances. They will capitalize."

Erin Dunne added 11 points for the Knights (5-3, 1-1) including 5 points late and 5 fourth quarter boards.

"IC was definitely fast," said Yohn. "They run the ball through and try to break down your defense."