-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Eden Horn of St. Edmond shoots over Hampton-Dumont on Friday

The St. Edmond girls used a suffocating defense to secure a 48-26 victory over Hampton-Dumont/CAL here on Friday night.

Eden Horn scored 23 points with 11 rebounds, two steals, two blocks and two assists, as Chloe Palmer added 10 points with 10 rebounds, four assists and three steals to lead the Gaels (12-4 overall, 7-3 in the North Central Conference).

For the Bulldogs (5-12, 3-7), MacKenzy Valley had 16 points, with 14 of those coming in the first half.

“We’ll use this game to get better for the upcoming postseason,” SEHS head coach CJ Tracy said. “There are a few things we can really work on that will make us better when we need to be.

“I thought we did a good job early on of sticking to our plan and executing, things just kind of got away from us for a bit there and we didn’t handle the adversity we faced very well at times.”

St. Edmond jumped out to a 10-2 lead in the opening stages of the first quarter before Valley got going, as the sophomore scored all nine opening for Hampton-Dumont/CAL.

A 3-pointer by Abby Huss got the ball rolling in the second for the Gaels, who went up by 11 before closing the first half with a Horn triple that made it 30-16.

“We hit some big shots when we really needed to,” Tracy said. “The girls did a nice job of moving the basketball and working it inside to Eden, who really finished well around the rim.”

Both offenses struggled in the second half, but nine combined points from Horn and Palmer helped St. Edmond keep the Bulldogs at a distance. Horn scored six over the final eight minutes to help seal the win.

The Gaels have now won two straight and seven of eight around a loss at 15th-ranked (Class 3A) Algona. They remain home for the final four games of the regular season starting Monday vs. Humboldt.

ST. EDMOND 48, HAMPTON-DUMONT/CAL 26

St. Edmond — Sophia Schlienz 1 0-0 3, Anna Lursen 1 1-2 3, Chloe Palmer 4 2-4 10, Eden Horn 10 2-4 23, Abby Huss 2 0-0 6, Maggie Flaherty 0 0-0 0, Olivia Andrew 1 1-2 3, Jade Rock 0 0-0 0. Totals: 18 6-12 48.

Hampton-Dumont/CAL — Keely Moorehead 0 0-0 0, Addison Aalbers 0 0-0 0, MacKenzy Valley 6 2-2 16, Madison Heilskov 3 2-4 8, Bridget Brocka 0 2-2 2, Aliyah Swieter 0 0-0 0, Maddie Pralle 0 0-0 0. Totals: 9 6-8 26.

Quarter scores: St. Edmond led 15-9, 30-16, 39-24. Three-point goals: St. Edmond 4 (Schlienz 1, Horn 1, Huss 2), Hampton-Dumont/CAL 2 (Valley 2). Total rebounds: St. Edmond 39, Hampton-Dumont/CAL 22. Steals: St. Edmond 11, Hampton-Dumont/CAL 4. Blocked shots: St. Edmond 2, Hampton-Dumont/CAL 2. Turnovers: St. Edmond 9, Hampton-Dumont/CAL 18. Team fouls: St. Edmond 18, Hampton-Dumont/CAL 7.