St. Edward wins on senior night to reach .500

Although the Edward J. Seisser Gym was well decorated for the occasion, it was a low key senior night Thursday for the St. Edward girls basketball team.

The five senior players were introduced with their parents, but other than teammates there were very few fans to applauded them.

The Green Wave (5-5) did not show the disappoint on the court. Using a tenacious defense, St. Edward overwhelmed a young Elmwood Park squad for a 60-22 Metro Suburban win.

Starting with senior Madison Schueler's 3-point shot to open the game, the Green Wave never trailed. The Tigers tied it 9-9 halfway through the first quarter, but an Ella O'Neil pullup jumper put St. Edward back on top for good. The Green Wave led 18-9 after the first eight minutes and 38-15 at the half.

"The season was just thrown together and it was hard to adjust to," said O'Neil, one of the five seniors. "But tonight was still fun."

Schueler was also happy to be on the court after recovering from an ankle injury.

"I sprained my foot pretty bad in a car accident but I'm back at it now and I'm happy to be back," said Schueler who scored 10 points. "It was a little disappointing that I didn't have any fans tonight but my teammates were here to back me up."

The Green Wave's dominance continued in the second half and they led 54-16 to start the fourth quarter.

St. Edward forced 23 Elmwood Park turnovers.

Green Wave coach Michelle Dawson credited senior Mia Castro with upsetting the Tigers' offense.

"Castro is kind like our unsung hero because she is such a presence on the floor defensively and causes so many disruptions with the other team and that doesn't always appear in the stats," Dawson said. "But her contributions this year have been key to our success. She leads through her actions and her intensity on defense."

While all five seniors scored, junior Brooke Biggins provided most of the team's firepower, finishing with a game-high 22 points.

Dawson liked what she saw from her team.

"This team always battles and they always play hard," the St. Edward coach said. "We keep getting better. It's been a rough season for us. Each practice, each game, we continue to improve and that's what you want to see from your players."

Alina Paul, one of three underclassmen starters, led Elmwood Park (1-8, 1-8) with 9 points.