Smith, South Elgin hold off St. Edward

When the game is on the line, South Elgin sophomore Becca Smith is comfortable with the basketball in her hands.

Proving again to be a young but cool and collected player under pressure, Smith took control of Tuesday's nonconference girls basketball game at St. Edward and in the end, she won it for the Storm.

Smith penetrated the lane and banked in a 6-footer with 7 seconds left to play, lifting the Storm to an entertaining 54-53 victory at St. Edward in a matchup of neighboring schools who played each other for the first time after last year's scheduled game was snowed out and couldn't be rescheduled.

"My team relies on me," said Smith, who had a game-high 27 points to go along with 4 assists and 9 steals. "I saw an open shot and took it."

Neither team established complete control of the game at any point. The biggest lead either squad held was South Elgin's 45-38 advantage after a Smith bucket with 5:50 to play but St. Edward, which led most of the first half, closed the gap quickly and took a lead when an Alex Lee basket sparked a 10-1 run that gave the Green Wave (9-7) a 48-46 advantage after a Paige Gannon hoop with 2:19 to go.

From there, there were three ties and five lead changes down the stretch.

St. Edward grabbed a 53-52 lead on an Enza Ranallo free throw with 12 seconds to play but South Elgin (7-9) got the ball into Smith's hands and she delivered the go-ahead basket.

"This was just one of those games that was so chaotic," said South Elgin coach Tim Prendergast. "Becca hit the shot and the kids did a nice job down the stretch. I thought we played really good defense tonight. St. Ed's is a nice team. They hustle and they hit the boards hard.

"It was a fun game and we're going to keep playing them. This is a fun place to play. It's a great environment. We don't have to go too far - it's just a bus ride across the river. I know they're a Class 2A school but it's a good program. (St. Edward coach) Michelle (Dawson) does a nice job with her kids."

South Elgin won despite being outrebounded by a massive margin of 46-19. The Storm shot better from the field -21 of 46 to St. Edward's 23 of 56 - and the Storm turned the ball over only 14 times compared to St. Edward's 25. The Green Wave also made only 4 of 10 from the free-throw line.

"Overall our level of play is getting better every game," said Dawson, whose team finished the game with four sophomores and a junior on the floor. "Tonight was disappointing but there were many good things on the floor. I'm so proud of the effort we had on the boards. If we cut down a couple turnovers and hit another free throw or two maybe we have this one."

For South Elgin, it was a needed win. The Storm dropped its last two games at the Oswego East tournament and returns to Upstate Eight Conference play against St. Charles North Friday, a team that is coming off a strong fifth-place finish at the tough Dundee-Crown Christmas tournament.

"Our hearts finally shined through tonight," Smith said. "We played hard. This was a big win for us after those two losses at Oswego."

Senior Dijon Smith added 16 points for South Elgin, which only had 4 players score in the game.

Sophomore Callie Johnson led the Green Wave with 15 points and 14 rebounds, while sophomore Maddie Kerr added 12 points.