Girls basketball: Harvest stays calm, collects victory against St. Edward
There wasn't any sense of panic.
With Savanah Lynch scoring all 10 points, St. Edward blitzed stunned host Harvest Academy with a 10-0 lead to start Thursday's nonconference game.
The Lions (11-6), who also overcame a 12-point deficit 37-25 in the third quarter, eventually grinded out a 55-51 win over the Green Wave.
“It is a long game,” said Harvest coach Austin Brown. “We kept our heads the whole game and kept the energy the entire contest. This is a great win against a very good St. Ed's team.”
The Lions got a great effort from senior captains Daphne Brown and Ellie Semerau. Brown scored 13 of her team-high 19 points in the first half. Semerau tallied 15 of her 18 points in the second half. Both played all 32 minutes.
Brown sank 4-of-8 from 3-point range and dished out 4 assists.
“They beat us in the regional final and we needed this for the books,” Brown said. “We just hustled and grinded out the win. We kept shooting and competing.”
Semerau connected on 3-of-7 from 3-point range and collected 3 assists.
“Even after we got down early, we kept leaning on each other,” Semerau said. We kept lifting each other up and encouraging each other.”
Coach Austin Brown praised his two senior captains.
“Daphne and Ellie are great senior leaders,” Austin Brown said. “They are great captains. They are dynamic players who play both ends of the floor.”
A 3-pointer from Layne Dawson gave St. Edward a 37-25 advantage with 5:08 left in the third quarter.
With Brown scoring 5 points, Semerau 4 points and a 3-pointer from Paige Nestrick, Harvest ended the third quarter on a 14-3 run and sliced the Green Wave lead to 1-point, 40-39 after three quarters.
In the fourth quarter, with St. Edward leading 49-48, the winners got 5 crucial points from Alyssa Burke, who connected on a 3-pointer with two free throws as the hosts got control of the game.
Lynch led the Green Wave with 20 points, only 4 points in the second half.
“We lacked execution,” said Green Wave coach Michelle Dawson. “We didn't rebound.”