Hornets Remain Unbeaten with Border Battle Victory

Facing one of its most daunting challenges of the season to date without one of its top players, the Edina girls basketball team—ranked second in Class AAAA—remained unscathed following a trip to Richfield on Thursday night, returning home with a yet-unblemished 15-0 record following a 62-57 defeat of the third-ranked team in Class AAA.

The five-point victory was earned with leading scorer, guard MC McGrory, in street clothes as she recovers from a concussion. The junior, who is averaging 19.2 points-per-game, could only help cheer her teammates on from the sidelines against a formidable opponent.

It was an uphill battle in the early-goings for Edina. After the Hornets opened the scoring with the first basket of the game, they quickly found themselves down 12-5 despite just one field goal by Richfield guard Jessica January, one of the best players in the state.

However, as they kept January effectively bottled up for most of the first half, Edina turned the tables on their hosts, taking a 19-18 lead on a steal and basket by guard Katybeth Biewen with five minutes remaining before halftime.

The Hornets would never trail after that point, taking a 26-20 lead into the locker room and extending the edge to double digits at 30-20 just 30 seconds into the second half on a jumper by wing Lindsey Johnson.

Richfield remained undaunted despite the deficit and went on an 11-1 run to knot the score at 31-31 with 12:40 remaining in regulation.

But Hornets moved quickly to quash the uprising as Biewen and Johnson teamed up to score eight of the next 10 points to put the visitors back in front at 39-33 — all this while holding January (who averages 20.9 points-per-game) to just 10 points with five minutes left in the game.

The Spartans junior directed a late comeback to finish with 18 points in all, yet the rally fell short as Edina converted enough of their free throw attempts down the stretch to hold off their hosts and clinch a five-point victory.

Biewen led all scorers with 25 points, while Johnson notched 16 points and guard Madeline Rodriguez chipped in 14 points.

It was the third win of the season over a ranked squad for the Hornets, joining previous triumphs over Hill-Murray (No. 5, AAA) and Lakeville North (No. 3, AAAA). 

Edina closes out the week with its final pre-Lake Conference matchup in its annual contest with Woodbury as the Hornets travel to take on their east-metro rival in a 1:45 p.m. game on Saturday afternoon. 

Next week, coach Matt Nilsen's squad commences Lake play with home games against Hopkins (No. 1, AAAA) and Eden Prairie (No. 5, AAAA) on Tuesday and Friday, respectively. Tip-off for both matchups is slated for 7 p.m.