St. Edward shakes off slow start, downs Harvest Christian for regional title
There wasn't any sense of panic.
Harvest Christian Academy jumped off to a 7-0 lead against St. Edward in the championship game of the Class 1A Harvest Christian regional in Elgin Friday night.
After a slow start, the No. 2 seeded Green Wave outscored the third-seeded Lions 54-24 the rest of the game in posting a 54-31 win.
It was the Wave's (18-13) first regional championship since 2017.
St. Edward, which beat HCA 65-21 earlier in the season, advances to the 1A Gardner South Wilmington sectional to play Serena at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.
“We weren't patient at the beginning of the game,” said Green Wave coach Michelle Dawson. “We played better offense and put defensive pressure on them. We got some turnovers and transition baskets.”
Daphne Brown scored 7 quick points for the upset-minded Lions (14-12) including a 3-pointer.
The Wave scored their first basket at the 5:05 mark on a putback back by freshman Savannah Lynch to make the score 7-2.
Lynch scored 7 points as St. Edward forged a tie at 11 after a quarter.
The Wave scored the first 8 points of the second quarter — five by Jordin Sauls including a 3-pointer to take a 19-11 advantage with five minutes left before intermission.
Brown scored on a driving layup for the Lions’ first points of the quarter to make the score 19-13.
A 12-footer from Lynch at the buzzer gave St. Edward a 25-18 advantage at halftime.
The visitors from Elgin seized control of the game to start the third quarter with a 10-0 run. Lynch scored 8 points and Layne Dawson had a basket as the Wave led 35-18.
Sauls added 12 points for St. Edward.
“We have faced a lot of adversity the last two years,” said Dawson. “I am very proud of this team. This team did a great job of sticking together.”
Brown scored 20 of the 31 points for the Lions.
“It was a tough game,” said HCA coach Jeremy Burke. “Daphne Brown led the way for us. It was a physical game from the get-go. We matched their physicality the first two quarters. We didn't match it in the second half. Lynch is an outstanding player. We battled to the very end. I can't thank them enough for their effort all season.”