Driscoll ends St. Edward's season
PLANO -- In 96 minutes of basketball against each other this year, the girls basketball teams from Driscoll and St. Edward have found a considerable familiarity.
And in the case of St. Edward, that translated on Saturday into a tooth-and-nail contest that left the game competitive until midway through the fourth quarter.
But Driscoll (22-6) found what it needed in order to win the game in the fourth quarter, and claimed the Class 2A Plano regional title with a 54-39 victory. The win was the Highlanders' third this season against the Green Wave (12-12) and was a victory that was certainly won through hard work.
Courtney Lindfors scored 22 points and added 19 rebounds for the winners, who will play Chicago Latin Monday in the Lisle sectional. She also helped take control of the game when St. Edward center Celeste Von Ahnen left with 4 fouls in the third quarter.
"When she left, we started to get it inside," Lindfors said. "When she came back in, we could go to our outside again."
That outside presence was best-exemplified by Gigi DiGrazia, who scored 13 points and hit four 3-pointers. The last of those long-range bombs came with 3:19 left and was from NBA 3-point territory.
More importantly than the distance, DiGrazia's shot gave the Highlanders, who won their first regional title, a 46-36 lead and put a dagger in St. Edward's upset hopes. It also preserved the team's run in the postseason.
"It's been a really fun year this year," DiGrazia said. "But know you could ask every one of us, and even the coaches, and we're looking for bigger things. It's great to win a regional but we want some more too."
St. Edward, which advanced to the Class A Elite Eight last season, led throughout the first quarter and endured a back-and-forth second quarter and only trailed 25-20 at halftime.
"It wasn't for lack of effort tonight," St. Edward coach Michelle Dawson said. "The ball just didn't bounce our way. We had a couple of missed shots and a couple of turnovers as key moments. The game really swung and changed when (VonAhnen) picked up her fourth foul."
VonAhnen was key to her team's success. In spite of the foul trouble, she finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Senior Megan Pozezinski was also integral for the Green Wave. She scored 8 points and hit a baseline jumper with 4 minutes left in the third quarter to tie the game at 29. Junior Katie Yohn also had 8 points for St. Edward.
Driscoll outscored St. Edward 7-2 the rest of the third quarter. The Highlanders opened the fourth quarter with a 5-point burst, capped by an Allie Divito 3-pointer.
St. Edward stayed close, but DiGrazia's 3-pointer was a back-breaking shot.
"It's hard because you don't want to play your conference opponents in the postseason," Dawson said. "You want everyone to do well in the postseason. And I wish Driscoll the best of luck next week. And I wish our seniors well too. They're a great bunch of kids."