Girls basketball: Hanchett’s clutch free throws seal win for Timothy Christian against St. Edward

Brooklyn Hanchett took the inbounds pass and was fouled with seconds to play as Timothy Christian nursed a 3-point lead Thursday in Elmhurst.

With the Trojans in the bonus, Hanchett only needed to make one of her two free throws to officially hold off a fourth-quarter comeback from St. Edward, which had seen a 4-point halftime lead turn into an 11-point deficit at the end of the third.

Hanchett sank both foul shots, and the Trojans opened Chicagoland Christian Conference play with a 60-55 win over a Green Wave team that is only a season removed from finishing fourth in the state.

“It feels great,” said Hanchett, whose 14 points and five assists led the Trojans. “This was a game that we really wanted, and it feels great to get it.”

Timothy Christian (6-1, 1-0) saw all five of its starters score in double figures, but it was an impressive showing across the scoresheet for some of them that really told the story.

Elisabeth Van den Berg achieved a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds, and Sienna Azzinaro scored nine of her 11 points on three 3-pointers while also dishing out four assists.

Lyla Plaisier, the lone freshman for either team, scored 13 points over the first three quarters, and Annika Lemkuil rounded out the scoring with 10 points.

“If you look at the board, our scoring is really, really balanced,” Trojans coach Jill Groenewold said. “And we haven't had that all year, and it's nice to see that this time.”

Led by Savannah Lynch, who had nine of her game-high 22 points in the fourth, the Green Wave (4-4, 1-1) turned what appeared would be a lopsided Trojans victory into a nail-biter. Lynch also had team highs of four assists and four steals.

St. Edward missed the 3 that could have tied the game in the final seconds, and the ball was lost out of bounds, giving possession back to the Trojans and setting up Hanchett’s game-icing free throws.

Hard as it tried, St. Edward couldn’t overcome a third quarter in which it was outscored 23-8 or the loss of Layne Dawson, who is out four to five weeks with a broken right hand.

“We need to get back to playing really strong team basketball because we're at our best when we're moving the ball and reading each other and attacking,” said Green Wave coach Michelle Dawson. “So we just have to do a better job of bringing the intensity all 32 minutes.”

Jordin Sauls scored 11 points, and Sanaii McPherson had eight rebounds to go with three steals.