Messenger photo by Britt Kudla: Eden Horn of St. Edmond puts up a shot against Iowa Falls on Friday in the Gael gym. For more photos, please visit CU.messengernews.net

The St. Edmond girls put on a complete effort for four quarters in front of their home fans for the first time this season.

Freshman Eden Horn had 19 points and 18 rebounds, junior Chloe Palmer added 16 points and five steals, and the Gaels handled Iowa Falls-Alden, 58-31.

Palmer sank four 3-pointers and classmate Sophia Schlienz drained three.

“We were kind of rushing things a little early I felt like,” SEHS head coach CJ Tracy said. “But I’ve always focused on defensive effort, and I thought that was extremely high.”

After the Cadets scored the opening bucket of the game, St. Edmond went on a 10-1 run behind Horn and Palmer, as the duo combined for all 10 first quarter points.

The lead would grow to as many as 10 early for the Gaels (2-1 overall, 2-0 in the North Central Conference), as they forced 18 first half turnovers against Iowa Falls-Alden (1-3, 0-2).

“We were able to really use our defense and turn that into offense,” Tracy said. “Chloe and Anna (Lursen) did a great job on Elody (England), and just overall, the girls made them work for everything.”

England, the leading scorer for the Cadets, had 12 points. Isabelle Janssen led with 13. Much of that, though, came with St. Edmond comfortable ahead.

Schlienz finished with nine points and three rebounds, Abby Huss added five points, and Olivia Andrew chipped in four points with three rebounds.

As a team, the Gaels were plus-17 on the glass and recorded 14 steals, forcing 27 turnovers by IF-A. Lursen, who had four points and three rebounds, had three steals, as did Horn.

“It was good to get back out on the court after having two games postponed because of weather,” Tracy said. “We need to get into a stretch where we are playing games just to get into that rhythm as a team.”

St. Edmond will do just that, jumping into the Hardwood Classic at Iowa Central on Saturday as a replacement for No. 1 (Class 2A) Treynor. The Gaels will play 10th-ranked (2A) Sioux Central at 1:30 p.m.

ST. EDMOND 58, IOWA FALLS-ALDEN 31

St. Edmond — Sophia Schlienz 3 0-0 9, Anna Lursen 1 2-2 4, Chloe Palmer 6 0-0 16, Eden Horn 9 1-1 19, Abby Huss 2 0-0 5, Olivia Andrew 2 0-1 4, Maggie Flaherty 0 0-0 0, Ava Andrew 0 0-0 0, Ava Bradley 0 0-0 0, Evie Heldorfer 0 0-0 0, Ava Underberg 0 0-0 0, Morgan Lewis 0 0-0 0. Totals: 23 3-4 58.

Iowa Falls-Alden — Grace Hartford 0 0-0 0, Isabelle Janssen 6 0-0 13, Elody England 3 5-9 12, Robyn Kelsey 0 0-0 0, Danika Rieks 2 2-3 6, Jordyn Meyer 0 0-0 0, Andrea Hernandez 0 0-0 0, Chloe Hoversten 0 0-0 0, Ella Bridgewater 0 0-0 0, Olivia Scholte 0 0-0 0, Jordyn Carpenter 0 0-0 0, Noelle Winters 0 0-0 0. Totals: 11 7-14 31.

Quarter scores: St. Edmond led 10-5, 27-11, 42-24. Three-point goals: St. Edmond 8 (Palmer 4, Schlienz 3, Huss 1), Iowa Falls-Alden 2 (Janssen 1, England 1). Total rebounds: St. Edmond 40, Iowa Falls-Alden 23. Steals: St. Edmond 14, Iowa Falls-Alden 6. Blocked shots: St. Edmond 2, Iowa Falls-Alden 2. Turnovers: St. Edmond 23, Iowa Falls-Alden 27. Team fouls: St. Edmond 14, Iowa Falls-Alden 8.