Yohn has company as Wave prevail
Rosary found out what many teams in the Suburban Catholic Conference are learning about St. Edward this season: The Green Wave are much more than just Katie Yohn.
Granted, the senior guard did finish with 29 points as St. Edward ended a 3-game skid against visiting Rosary in Elgin on Friday night, but it took much more for the Green Wave to earn their 58-51 victory over the Royals (13-4, 3-3).
"They had a lot of kids step up and score," Royals coach Dave Beebe said. "A lot of people say if you stop Yohn, you can beat them, but they had a lot of other players score."
Yohn did not hit a field goal in the final period after going 4-for-7 from the floor in the third quarter. Instead, the Green Wave (10-5, 4-2) were able to keep pace with Rosary with a pair of buckets from Valerie Gotheridge and Kristi Knott (9 points) going 5 of 8 from the free-throw line.
Rosary, which trailed 45-35 entering the final period, got 12 points from Stephanie Haugen, who finished with 16 of her team-high 18 points in the second half.
"This is definitely our game," said Yohn, who added 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. "Today is a perfect example of how good we can be."
Rosary, which had won 11 straight entering Friday's game, didn't take the same sentiment away from Friday's contest. The Royals trailed 32-15 at halftime largely in part to a 1-for-23 shooting effort in the second quarter. To make matters worse for the Royals, they owned a 14-5 advantage on the offensive glass in the first half. Overall, Rosary grabbed 23 offensive rebounds, with Jordan Retting (15 rebounds, 7 offensive) and Katie Petrando (11 rebounds, 8 offensive) leading the way.
St. Edward grabbed just 10 total offensive boards, but edged Rosary 10-2 on the offensive glass in the first half. Knott connected twice in the opening period and Madeline Kerr (15 points, 5 rebounds) scored an offensive putback to give St. Edward a 14-10 going into the second quarter.
"Our girls did a great job on the boards," St. Edward coach Michelle Dawson said. "Maddie and Val got some key box outs. We were able to get them in foul trouble."
Despite 36 second-half points from Rosary, constant foul trouble led the Green Wave to 22 trips to the free throw line in the second half. The Green Wave were 13 of 22 in the second half, and got a huge boost when Retting (11 points) fouled out with 7:11 left to play.
"We play as a team - when nobody is hitting, the whole momentum of the team drops," Haugen said. "The second half was better."