Girls basketball: St. Edward keeps belief, earns trip to Class 1A state tournament

St. Edward sophomore guard Savannah Lynch suffered a scare when she jammed her left hand a couple minutes into Monday night’s Class 1A girls basketball supersectional against Willows Academy.

Sidelined for 6 of the first 10 minutes following a re-taping of her hand, Lynch made her return felt in a big way, going on a personal 9-0 run to break a 19-all deadlock and provide the Green Wave (26-10) with a 28-21 halftime advantage.

“I got my hand jammed in the first quarter and had to get it taped up,” said Lynch. “I was concerned a little bit, but I was able to play through it. We all knew that we needed to push the pace. I’m happy that me getting something going opened it up for all my teammates.

“That gave us the momentum we needed.”

Lynch scored a game-high 23 points, while receiving huge support from teammates Jordin Sauls, Layne Dawson, Ginger Younger, Maggie Jarzemsky, Elizabeth Leadley, Amelia Davis, and Madeline Sasis, as St. Edward prevailed, 56-43, at Harvest Christian.

With the win, the Green Wave advance to Thursday’s 11:15 a.m. state semifinals against Pecatonica (30-6) at the CEFCU Arena in Normal.

“I’m really proud of our girls,” said St. Edward coach Michelle Dawson, who guided the program to a third-place state finish in 2017. “Everyone stepped up tonight.

“This time, having my daughters (Layne and Taylor) on the team makes it a little more special. Almost all the girls have played feeder in our program. They kept that belief that we could make this happen.”

That included Sauls, a junior forward, who tallied 7 of her 12 points in the fourth quarter when the Green Wave broke the game open.

“She was amazing tonight,” Lynch said of Sauls. “They couldn’t stop her in the paint.”

Sophomore Layne Dawson and junior Younger scored 7 points apiece, while Jarzemsky, who recently returned from ACL surgery, added 5 points, a team-high 10 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 assists off the bench.

“I’ve probably played about eight games,” said Jarzemsky. “It took me a little bit to get back in the groove of things. There were some struggles but having such a supportive team and coaching staff made such a huge difference.

“I’m just so excited.”

Leading 39-33 after three quarters, the Green Wave put the game away with an 11-0 run early in the final period, fueled by Younger, Jarzemsky, and Sauls.

Now, the Green Wave head downstate looking for their first state championship since 1985.

“It’s going to be a challenge for us, but we’re looking forward to seeing what we can do,” said Dawson.

Senior Caroline Schuler scored 17 points for the Eagles (26-9).

“We’ve been the underdog the entire year,” Schuler said. “We made school history (first-time sectional champions).”