Junior guard Sarah Gurley definitely understands what her role is for St. Edward.
While everybody on the other team is focused on all-state junior guard Savannah Lynch and some of her other teammates, Gurley knows that she can deliver a dagger for the Green Wave.
“My role is definitely shooting,” Gurley said. “It definitely makes them play closer to me, which helps me free up my other teammates.”
In a tight game, Gurley hit that decisive shot again.
Her 3-pointer in the third quarter Thursday night gave the visiting Green Wave a lead that they would not relinquish in a 54-51 nonconference victory at Aurora Central Catholic.
Gurley only scored seven points but her impact was felt for St. Edward (11-6). Lynch led all scorers with 24 points to go with nine rebounds and Ginger Younger added nine points.
Sofia Orozco led ACC (12-7) with 16 points. Ashley Watter added 14 points, while Gina Dutkanych chipped in with 10 points and Nora Schwartz followed with nine.
Gurley’s big shot came in the middle of a 15-4 spurt that turned a 35-29 deficit into a 44-37 lead, which was capped by a layup from Sanaii McPherson at buzzer to end the third quarter.
“It was big for Sarah to initiate that shot,” St. Edward coach Michelle Dawson said. “She’ll shoot when she’s open. But for her to have the confidence to go after that and look for that, I was very proud to see that.”
Gurley realized that she had a chance to make a difference as the play unfolded.
“It was pretty big in the moment, but we set a good screen to get me open for that,” Gurley said. “In the offense we were running, it was a two-man side and they set a screen for me, so I dribbled out to the corner.
“I saw that I didn’t really have a driving lane, so I was like, ‘Maybe I can get a three.’ I dribbled back and hit it.”
Dawson confirmed that Gurley is leaning into her role as are many other players on the team.
“Definitely. the person that’s going to hit the dagger three, right?” Dawson said. “Because Savannah, Sanaii and Jordin (Sauls) are going to draw a lot of attention. Sarah came up huge for us at Lisle. She hit some key shots in key moments.
“She’s getting more confident handling the ball, which is good. We have to look at next year, too. Without Ginger on the floor, she has to be one of the top three ball-handlers.”
Younger started the decisive run with a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws.
After Gurley’s 3-pointer, Lynch took over from there — as she often does. Lynch scored the first seven points of the fourth quarter as the Green Wave pushed the lead to 51-45.
“The Lynch girl is pretty good,” ACC coach LeVada Smith said. “Once she gets downhill, she’s pretty hard to stop.”
The Chargers never got the lead back after Gurley’s 3-pointer, but they were in the game until the final whistle. A 3-pointer from Dutkanych swirled around the rim at the buzzer to end the game.
“It’s probably the first time we fully played as a team the whole game, even though we got down in the third quarter,” Smith said. “We didn’t quit. We kept on battling. That’s all we can do.”
Gurley, meanwhile, is glad to experiencing this season with her classmates and friends in Lynch and Layne and Taylor Dawson.
Gurley joined those three in St. Edward’s feeder program in sixth grade, so they have grown up together on and off the court.
“We definitely built chemistry on the court just hanging out with each other,” Gurley said. “We’re really close. It makes it so much easier to play basketball. We know what our roles are.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.