By Craig Brueske Posted January 07, 2025 8:12 pm
Daily Herald
New area girls basketball teams enjoyed the holiday break more than St. Edward. Led by tournament Most Valuable Player Savannah
Lynch, the Green Wave captured the Lisle Holiday Cage Classic with an unblemished 4-0 mark, capped by their 39-32 title triumph over West Chicago (15-3) last week.
St. Edward (12-5) opened the tourney with a 55-16 victory over Rosary before defeating Westmont 64-32 in the quarterfinals, and earned a trip to the championship game with its 55-43 semifinal triumph over Resurrection. “The Lisle tournament continued to show us how versatile our team is,” said St. Edward coach MichelleDawson. “Having a deep bench, we can rely on all our players positively contributing on the court. “We pride ourselves on our unselfish mentality putting the team first. The effort on the court from all our players has been outstanding.”
None more so than Lynch, who put her all-around talent on display throughout the tournament. The 5-foot-10 sophomore forward led the Green Wave with a 19.7-point average for 4 games, while also adding 9.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and a pair of steals per contest. Lynch tallied a team-high 11 points in her team’s title win over West Chicago.
Senior guard Elizabeth Leadley and sophomore guard/forward Layne Dawson added 9 points apiece against the Wildcats, who were paced by all-tourney pick Jasmyn Trigueros. “We didn’t have any other players named to the all-tournament team but several other role players helped with our team’s success,” Dawson said of a group that includes seniors Amelia Davis, Madeline Sasis, Leadley, junior Jordin Sauls, and Layne Dawson. “The keys have been hard work and a commitment to learn from our mistakes in order to continue to improve.”
St. Edward began the 2025 portion of its season with a 74-62 double-overtime loss to Resurrection Saturday despite Lynch’s 23 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 steals. Dawson recorded a double-double with 16 points and 11 boards. Heading into this week’s games against Westmont and Aurora Christian, the Green Wave stand atop the Chicagoland Christian Conference standings with a 3-0 mark — tied with Bishop McNamara. Their first meeting against Bishop McNamara will come on Jan. 25 in Elgin.