Girls basketball: Despite loss in Class 1A third-place game, St. Edward thrilled to end season at state
NORMAL — Cissna Park pulled away in the final minute of what had been a back-and-forth contest with St. Edward in the Class 1A third-place game, snapping a 44-44 tie by going 6 of 8 from the free-throw line to close out the game on a 6-0 run Friday at CEFCU Arena in Normal.
With its 50-44 win, Cissna Park finished the season with a 31-6 record after reaching state for the first time since 2000. St. Edward, at state for the first time since 2017, finished 26-12.
“I’m just very proud of how they always continued to improve all season,” St. Edward coach Michelle Dawson said. “We didn’t have a glorious season with only a couple of losses like some teams do when they come down here, but it was a group of players who believed in themselves, believed in each other, and never stopped working to get better.”
The Timberwolves held narrow leads of 13-12 at the end of the first quarter and 26-25 at halftime. The score was tied 34-34 by the end of the third.
After Cissna Park opened the fourth quarter on an 8-2 run to go up 42-36, St. Edward came right back with an 8-2 run to tie things again at 44-44 with 2:46 left to play.
Both teams then went scoreless for more than two minutes before Cissna Park got the chance to close out the game from the free-throw line. Juniors Lauryn Hamrick and Addison, who led the team in scoring with 20 points and nine points, respectively, each went 3 of 4 from the line in the final 41 seconds.
Hamrick made a pair with 13.5 seconds left to put Cissna Park up 48-44, all but icing the game. Lucht added a pair for good measure with 2.3 seconds left.
Hamrick was 10 of 12 from the line in the game, and said she wanted to just keep that going with a chance to give the team some late breathing room.
“I’ve just got to put the ball in the hole and just make them foul me,” she said. “Once they foul me, I can make the shots.”
Hamrick added 16 rebounds, while Lucht had a team-high five steals. Ava Henrichs added eight points off the bench, and Josie Neukomm finished with six points and five assists.
For St. Edward, just two years removed from a 7-25 season, the Green Wave were able to wrap things up at state.
“It’s been amazing,” sophomore Savannah Lynch said. “I love this group of girls and we have such a strong connection. The fact that we got here, it was one of our goals, I’m just excited that I got to experience it. It’s a great atmosphere, it’s fun and we hopefully can come back.”
“I couldn’t have asked for a better ending or a better team to go down here with,” senior Elizabeth Leadley said. “All these people, I see them as my best friends, and I’m just so grateful I got to finish out my career. I’m excited to see what they all do next year and what my other teammates do in the future.”
Lynch and Layne Dawson led the Green Wave with 18 and 11 points, respectively. Junior Jordin Sauls added six points.
“Definitely want to key in on the teamwork and working together when it counts, and coming together when it gets hard,” Sauls said. “I feel like that helped us this season in a lot of key games when things got tough, times when we were down and all feeling anxious and pressured. We just stayed calm and stayed together and had each other’s back.”
Senior Maggie Jarzemsky, who missed much of the season recovering from an ACL injury, said making state completed a main goal.
“I didn’t play most of the season, but since the beginning this team has been so supportive of each other,” Jarzemsky said. “We’ve had full confidence in each other all season. State was always the goal, and we accomplished that, so that’s a huge accomplishment for us. I’m just super proud of all of us.”