By Paul Johnson | Chicago Tribune
UPDATED: December 4, 2023 at 5:22 PM CST
To say that St. Edward guard Savannah Lynch is surprised would be an understatement. While Lynch knew that she was going to be on the varsity as a freshman this season, she didn’t know what her role would be for the Green Wave or exactly how it would play out. “I thought I was just going to come into this team and help them out,” Lynch said.
As it turns out, Lynch has meant much more than that to St. Edward (2-5). Lynch has been one of the area’s breakout stars, making the all-tournament team at Dixon. She then scored a career-high 28 points in Thursday’s 75-46 loss to Rockford Lutheran. She has quickly become the Green Wave’s focal point.
“The sky is the limit with Savannah,” said St. Edward coach Michelle Dawson, who has known Lynch for most of her life. “The biggest thing is she’s competitive but she’s so coachable. She listens and takes your feedback and suggestions.”
Lynch went to preschool with Dawson’s freshman twin daughters, Layne and Taylor, who are also on St. Edward’s varsity along with fellow freshman Sarah Gurley. Lynch came up through the Green Wave feeder program. Michelle Dawson knew the talent she had arriving this season and hasn’t hesitated to use it.
“We’ve put her in some tough spots,” Dawson said of Lynch. “She’s been asked to guard seniors. She’s had some really tough defensive assignments. We’ve been asking a lot of her, and her teammates have been supporting her.” That helped her varsity transition.
“I’ve been spending time with the girls, and we’ve all been hanging out together and team bonding,” Lynch said. “Building relationships with each other, that’s really important. “Every day, playing at a high level, I’m learning to compete with better girls. It’s always something new.”
As the games go on and she continues to be St. Edward’s leading scorer, she’s learning she belongs at this level. “It’s giving me the confidence that I can be here,” Lynch said. “I’m more confident in myself and I can help my teammates out. That’s been really important.”
Dawson believed Lynch could make a difference right away. “Savannah is just so dynamic of a player and there are so many aspects to her game — that’s what’s really exciting,” Dawson said. “She’s had a lot of dedication to our program and worked hard to improve.” The four freshmen all came up together and have been looking forward to playing for St. Edward. They’re still learning, but the hard work is starting to show.
“We’re still very young,” Dawson said. “It’s not just building the chemistry with the four freshmen on the team. We still have that to work through.” Honor roll: Aurora Central Catholic coach LeVada Smith was keeping track as junior guard Riley Cwinski approached 1,000 career points, but he didn’t want to add to the pressure. “I asked her if she wanted to know how many points she was at,” Smith said. “And she said no.”
It didn’t take too long for that moment to arrive. In Tuesday’s 66-55 loss to Wheaton St. Francis, Cwinski recorded her 1,000th career point. “It was a great accomplishment,” Smith said. “Her only being a junior and it happening early in the season, it’s going to be fun to just sit back and enjoy the ride and see what happens moving forward. “She has gotten better each year. I’m just glad to be a part of it.” Moving up: Colorado State recruit Brooke Carlson continued her march this weekend toward program history for Batavia. As the Bulldogs beat Montini 53-52 Saturday in the Chicagoland Invitational Showcase at Fremd, Carlson scored 24 points in earning game MVP honors.
In the process, Carlson reached 1,602 career points, moving past Katie Issel for third all-time at Batavia. Next up on the list is Liza Fruendt (1,921) and Hannah Frazier (2,046). Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News. Originally Published: December 4, 2023 at 12:15 PM CST