-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Chloe Palmer of St. Edmond attempts to pass the ball around Bishop Garrigan Morgan Lewis on Tuesday

While the final score may not have shown it, St. Edmond head girls coach CJ Tracy felt like there were enough positives to build off of following game one of the 2024-25 season.

Top-ranked (Class 1A) and returning state qualifier Bishop Garrigan received a 32-point effort from sophomore all-stater Graclyn Eastman to post a 78-20 victory here Tuesday night inside the Gael gym.

Eastman, who scored 14 in the opening quarter, also had eight rebounds and five steals for the Golden Bears (1-0 overall). Emmi Bartolo added 14 points with freshman Madelyn Tigges scoring 10.

Bartolo and Tigges both had six rebounds, as Bishop Garrigan held a plus-13 edge on the glass.

For St. Edmond (0-1), Josie Harvey had six points, Anna Lursen scored four with six rebounds and three steals, and Chloe Palmer chipped in four points.

“We talked about not letting them speed us up, but once the live game action started, we fell right into it,” Tracy said. “They do a great job of getting you out of your rhythm and I didn’t think we adjusted to the flow of the game. When we did get into our half-court sets and used our press-breaker effectively, we did a lot of good things.

“We’ll learn from this as we do every opportunity to we have to play. This is just the start of the season and nowhere near where we want to be by the end of it.”

The Golden Bears forced a dozen turnovers in the opening eight minutes, scoring their first seven points off those Gael mistakes. By the end of the first, they held a commanding 26-6 advantage, pushing the lead to 41-12 at the half.

“We can’t keep making the same mistakes over and over again,” Tracy said. “We have to learn from that and make a different pass or try something different when one thing doesn’t work. I didn’t think we did a very good job of that.

“We were able to get a lot of decent looks but again, we got rushed and those kinds of shots just don’t fall when that happens.”

Tigges added seven rebounds in her first game with Garrigan while Sacha Alesch had four steals. Bartolo also had six rebounds and three steals on the night.

St. Edmond is off until Dec. 6 when they travel to West Fork, as they were scheduled to play Clarion-Goldfield/Dows that night before the Cowgirls canceled their season. Bishop Garrigan heads to Belmond-Klemme next Tuesday night.

BISHOP GARRIGAN 78, ST. EDMOND 20

St. Edmond — Anna Lursen 2 0-0 4, Payton Bradley 0 0-0 0, Chloe Palmer 1 2-2 4, Abby Huss 0 0-0 0, Josie Harvey 3 0-0 6, Sophia Schlienz 0 2-2 2, Ava Underberg 1 2-2 4, Maggie Flaherty 0 0-0 0, Braelynn Rees 0 0-0 0, Morgan Lewis 0 0-0 0, Jade Rock 0 0-0 0, Ava Bradley 0 0-0 0, Ava Andrew 0 0-0 0, Olivia Andrew 0 0-0 0. Totals: 7 6-6 20.

Bishop Garrigan — Emmi Bartolo 6 0-0 14, Graclyn Eastman 11 8-8 32, Madelyn Tigges 4 2-2 10, Zoe Montag 3 2-4 8, Sacha Alesch 1 2-4 4, Carley Nielson 1 1-2 4, Ava Roethler 0 2-2 2, Addyson Faris 0 0-0 0, Alyssa Haugland 2 1-3 5, Brooklyn Berte 0 1-2 1, Jenna Peterson 0 0-0 0, Shiloh Trainer 0 0-0 0, Lillian Erpelding-Wickman 0 0-0 0. Totals: 28 19-27 78.

Quarter scores: Bishop Garrigan led 26-6, 41-12, 67-16. Three-point goals: St. Edmond 0, Bishop Garrigan 3 (Bartolo 2, Nielson 1). Total rebounds: St. Edmond 24, Bishop Garrigan 37. Steals: St. Edmond 7, Bishop Garrigan 18. Turnovers: St. Edmond 28, Bishop Garrigan 12. Fouls: St. Edmond 20, Bishop Garrigan 11.