Sharkey gets Warriors back on right track

Alexa Sharkey had a one-track mind Tuesday night.

Keeping track of St. Edward senior Katie Yohn is enough to occupy anyone's attention.

Sharkey did it well enough to lead Wheaton Academy to a 57-42 over Yohn's Green Wave in the Lisle Holiday Cage Classic third-place game.

"They're both great ballplayers," St. Edward coach Michelle Dawson said. "They are. They're both dynamic, really fun, talented kids."

Sharkey knew she had to contain Yohn, having heard about Yohn from her coach, Beth Mitchell.

"We talked a lot in terms of what (Yohn) has been doing here at this tournament and that that was going to be the key for us tonight was that we had to do a good job of shutting her down if we wanted to have a chance to win this game," Mitchell said. "We had to take her out of her game."

Yohn finished with 13 points - her season low and well below her 22.9 average - to go with 11 rebounds and 5 blocks, 3 steals and 3 assists, but she didn't connect on her first field goal until she hit a 3-pointer with 48 seconds to play in the second quarter. By then Wheaton Academy (12-1) had converted a 9-0 start into a 34-20 lead. The Warriors' advantage peaked at 18 points in the second quarter.

"It was definitely frustrating," Yohn said. "She did a good job."

"We knew that Wheaton was going to be coming out strong after their game yesterday, their loss (to Coal City int the semifinals Monday)," Dawson said. "When you have that many first-quarter turnovers (12) then come back from down 9-0, it's tough to battle back, especially against a team like this. They've got so many different weapons. They can come at you from every angle."

Jenn Lee added 15 points and 8 rebounds for the Warriors, and Meghan Grant had 8 points and 8 rebounds, but nobody could compare with Sharkey's numbers. The 5-foot-9 junior scored 28 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, had 7 steals and threw in 3 assists for good measure.

"She's a really good player," Yohn said. "She had a really good supporting her cast with all her teammates. They kept setting screens for her and she was running around a lot.

"She's hard to keep track of, definitely."

"She's just a great player," Mitchell added about Sharkey. "She's very versatile. She does so many things so well. She has the whole package, and I think that's really exciting. It's fun to watch, it's fun to coach and you don't get the opportunity to coach too many kids like her."

St. Edward (11-5) mounted a comeback in the third quarter, getting to within 7 points with 6:58 to go in the fourth on Yohn's three-point play. The Green Wave never scored again, but Sharkey did, getting 6 of the Warriors' final 8 points as they pulled away and then held the ball to kill the clock.

"We just came off a loss, so I just wanted to pick it up and show that that wasn't our best game last night," Sharkey said. "We just came out and knew that we had to stop (Yohn)."

"It was a great way to come back after we faced a little adversity," Mitchell said. "I'm very proud of the way they played tonight."