Girls basketball: St. Edward cools off Harvest Christian to win Class 1A regional
St. Edward weathered a rough start Thursday to clinch the Class 1A Aurora Christian regional championship with a 57-31 win over Harvest Christian Academy.
The Lions’ pressure defense forced 12 Green Wave turnovers in the first half, but they could not capitalize on the miscues. Harvest Christian’s shots would not drop, and St. Edward controlled the boards.
“Harvest put a lot of pressure on us and made us hurry up our offense at times and force some turnovers, but we were able to regain our composure,” said St. Edward coach Michelle Dawson. “We were definitely up for this game and ready for the challenge. It was a great team win, everyone played their role.”
With the win, second seed St. Edward (23-10) advances to the Class 1A Hinkley-Big Rock sectional at 6 p.m. Tuesday to play Yorkville Christian, who beat Serena 48-41 to win the Indian Creek regional.
Harvest Christian made only three baskets in the first half. The Green Wave out-rebounded the Lions 26-9 in the first 16 minutes.
“We average over 50 points a game,” Harvest Christian coach Austin Brown said. “Tonight, they just weren’t going down for us.”
St. Edward led 13-4 after the first quarter. After being awarded the sixth jump ball call of the game, the Green Wave finished the second quarter on an 11-0 run, with five points coming on free throws.
“Unfortunately, we got into foul trouble, and we just couldn’t keep them off the line,” said Brown.
The Lions made a run to start the third quarter. Sophia Johnson’s layup at the six-minute mark cut St. Edward’s lead to 26-16. The Green Wave responded with a 10-2 run to start the last quarter with a 36-18 lead.
“Every time that Harvest made a run, we were quickly able to contain it,” Dawson said.
Savannah Lynch scored a game-high 23 points for Green Wave. The sophomore also pulled down 14 rebounds.
“Savanah had an outstanding game,” said Dawson. “I know that they put a lot of pressure on her and she handled that really well.”
Control of the boards was a key to the win according to Lynch.
“I think rebounding was our biggest achievement tonight,” said the sophomore. “Also, we were persistent, getting back on defense and scoring.”
Junior Jordan Sauls chipped in 10 points for St. Edward. Senior teammate Maggie Jarzemsky grabbed 10 rebounds.
Third-seed Harvest Christian finished the season with a 21-8 record.
“Twenty-one wins, the most since 2018, so I would categorize this season as a huge success,” said Brown about his first year as head coach.
Senior Daphne Brown led the Lions’ scoring with 12 points including three baskets from beyond the arc.