Undefeated Wheaton Academy hands St. Edward 1st loss

Something had to give on Thursday night when visiting undefeated Wheaton Academy clashed with undefeated St. Edward.

In the end it was the experience and the stifling defense of the Warriors that won out as they improved to 7-0 and 2-0 in the Metro Suburban West with a 47-42 girls basketball win over the Green Wave.

Senior Elizabeth Melbey scored a game-high 21 points for the Warriors and fellow senior point guard Jamie Netzley added 11 points.

Wheaton Academy forced 20 turnovers and converted them into 18 transition points while also holding the Green Wave to just 14-of-38 (37 percent) shooting from the field.

"Our defense has just been spectacular," said Wheaton Academy coach Beth Mitchell. "The turnovers were huge tonight. Our motto has been play together stay together. A lot of it is a matter of communicating and working together. It's not always about getting the steal, but when we work together we have the mindset we can make a defensive stop every time."

The Warriors led throughout, opening their biggest lead of the game at the end of the third quarter with a 7-0 run to go up 40-28. Melbey carried the load early on with 13 first-half points, including a couple of 3-pointers. She had 7 more points in the third quarter when the Warriors expanded the lead. It's the second straight game that Melbey went over 20 points

"She has done a great job for us," Mitchell said. "Those 3-pointers in the first half kind of opened things up for us. And she has not been at all afraid to attack the basket. The experience with Melbey and also with Jamie running the point makes a huge difference in these close games. They have been playing on varsity together since they were freshmen and they just bring so many intangibles."

St. Edward (5-0, 1-1) made a late push with an 11-3 run to pull to within 44-42 on a couple of free throws by Mallory Rejman with 1:12 left in the game. However, the Green Wave missed a shot and turned the ball over the next two times down the floor. Wheaton Academy iced it with 3 free throws form Emily Renn in the final minute.

"We had the opportunity, but I think experience played a big part," St. Edward coach Michelle Dawson said. "We are very young and still learning. They are fixable things. It will just take some time. The chemistry and the talent is definitely there. We just need to continue to bring it all together."

Madelyn Spagnola had a team-high 16 points, including four 3-pointers, for the Green Wave. Katelyn Castoro added 10 points.