Girls basketball: St. Edward hands 34-0 Johnsburg first loss, wins 2A sectional title

St. Edward knew it had a tall task in trying to take down unbeaten Johnsburg on Thursday night.

The Green Wave, though, weren’t intimidated.

“We knew what we had to come in here and do,” said junior Savannah Lynch, who scored eight of her team’s first 10 points and finished with a game-high 16. “We took in the environment, rose to the challenge, and we got done what we needed.”

Second-seeded St. Edward became the first team this year to beat top-seeded Johnsburg with a 57-38 win at the Class 2A Johnsburg sectional final. The Green Wave (26-8) advance to meet Chicago Phillips at 7 p.m. Monday at the Dominican University Supersectional.

St. Edward earned its second straight sectional championship and is hoping to make it back-to-back state appearances after taking fourth in Class 1A last year.

Johnsburg ended the season 34-1, just shy of its first sectional title since 2016.

“I’m just very proud of them right now,” Green Wave coach Michelle Dawson said after cutting down the net. “They put in the hours and it really paid off on the court tonight. We felt really confident going into this game. Johnsburg is a great team. They’ve have a very good season, but I think it’s a testament to how much my girls prepared.”

St. Edward never trailed Thursday, taking a 13-2 lead after the first quarter and holding Johnsburg to 1-of-14 shooting in the first. Lynch gave the Green Wave a 10-2 after a tough basket inside, although she missed the ensuing free throw on the potential three-point play.

It was one of the few shots that Lynch missed in the first half as she weaved her way to the hoop on acrobatic layups — scoring 12 points in the first two quarters.

St. Edward led 33-21 at halftime.

Junior Sarah Gurley finished just behind Lynch with 14 points, including three 3-pointers. Twice, her 3s turned a single-digit lead into double digits. Senior Sanaii McPherson tallied nine points for St. Edward and junior Layne Dawson and senior Jordin Sauls each tossed in six. Senior Ginger Younger added four points.

Lynch looked around with delight as her teammates celebrated Thursday’s victory.

“We all love each other, we’re all great friends on and off the court,” Lynch said. “I think that cohesiveness between all of us makes us a great team. We played in (1A) last year and went down state, so to come back here and do it in a higher class feels greats. It’s a big accomplishment.”

While St. Edward never trailed Thursday, Johnsburg fought back after a sluggish opening quarter, thanks largely to 6-foot-2 sophomore Skye Toussaint, who had all 10 of her points in the second.

Johnsburg’s plan of attack worked as it scored 19 points in the second quarter.

“Our view was that they lacked a little bit of depth, so part of our game plan was to try and be the aggressors,” Johnsburg coach Erin Stochl said. “Try to get the ball inside as much as possible and try to attack lanes. I felt Skye took that role on herself and demanded the ball inside. That’s when we started to make a little run.

“We had many opportunities to be in that game in the first quarter, and we missed a lot of easy baskets. In the second, I felt like something clicked in Skye. She just finished really well around the rim and took over there.”

Dawson credited her team for slowing down the Skyhawks’ top offensive players, — Skye Toussaint and twin sister Summer Toussaint, who finished with six points.

Specifically, Dawson felt Lynch and Dawson played excellent defensively.

“We wanted to try limit (Summer Toussaint’s) shots and then we wanted to limit (Skye Toussaint’s) touches in the paint and always have help behind her,” Dawson said. “Layne and Savannah are so skilled and they’ve been playing with each other forever. They’re a great combo ... and they know when to switch and when to stay, so I felt really confident with our defensive matchup there.”

Addison Sweetwood led Johnsburg with 13 points, making two 3s. Her second 3 cut St. Edward’s lead to 45-36 with 6:44 left in the fourth, but the Green Wave responded with a 10-0 run to put the game out of reach.

“The sky’s the limit,” Dawson said. “This team’s still hungry. I feel like we’re in a good place right now ... and looking forward to see if we can make it continue.”