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St. Edward dominates Ridgewood

The St. Edward girls basketball team continued its dominance in the Metro Suburban Red Conference on Saturday night with a 64-30 rout of visiting Ridgewood. The Green Wave have now won 7 straight games after starting the season 0-3. The last 6 wins have come against Metro Suburban Red opponents by an average margin of 30 points.

"All the pieces have really come together," St. Edward coach Michelle Dawson said. "It's been all about team play. We are showing a lot of heart and hustle out there. I like the way we are making the extra pass on offense to find the open player and on defense they are working together with the rotations."

The Green Wave's defensive pressure set the tone right from the outset as they forced 13 turnovers in the first quarter and 38 for the game.

Yssa Sto. Domingo spearheaded the defensive effort with 8 steals. She also scored 12 points.

"There's no mercy," Sto. Domingo said. "We don't let down at all. We practice really hard on defense and it portrays the way we play in the games. We like to control the way the game goes by playing at a fast pace and our communication working off screens has improved immensely."

The Green Wave (7-3, 6-0) scored 12 baskets on transition layups.

"Our defense is what fuels us," Dawson said. "It all starts with Yssa and Mariel (Franco) up top. They play with endless energy and just really enjoy getting after the ball. I would hate as an opposing team to have to bring the ball up against those two. Then our positioning in the half court on defense has been really good, too."

Franco led a balanced Green Wave scoring attack with a game-high 17 points. Hailey Niehaus added 14 points.

Franco, Sto. Domingo and Niehaus combined for 30 points in the first half as the Green Wave built a 39-17 lead by halftime.

"We are working as a cohesive unit," Dawson said. "It really helps to have a lot of leadership on the floor. They all know what it takes to win."

Ridgewood was led in scoring by Kameryn Fini with 10 points.

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