-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Payton Bradley of St. Edmond shoots over Paton-Churdan during 1A regional on Thursday

There was a special sense around the St. Edmond gym Thursday night.

And the Gael girls it to put forth one of their better games of the season.

Senior Payton Bradley scored a career-high 25 points on seven made 3-pointers, sophomore Chloe Palmer flirted with a triple-double and St. Edmond rolled past Paton-Churdan in a Class 1A, Region 3 opener, 73-24.

The Gaels (7-14 overall) will now travel to River Valley (12-10) on Tuesday. The Wolverines advanced with a 58-29 win over Ar-We-Va.

St. Edmond hit a season-high 14 triples, as sophomore Abby Huss drained four with Palmer, Sophia Schlienz and senior Braelynn Rees each adding one.

Huss finished with 12 points while Anna Lursen added eight to go along with seven steals. Josie Harvey, the third senior on the team, had four points, four rebounds, three steals and a blocked shot.

“These girls have spent a lot of time in the gym working on their shooting,” SEHS head coach CJ Tracy said. “I think that was evident (Thursday night). We moved the ball and found the open shooter. They did a great job of playing together, which makes the game so much easier.”

For the Rockets (1-20), Alivya Smith had nine points with lone senior Grace Cullum adding five.

St. Edmond had plenty of momentum on its side coming in off a win over Webster City earlier this week to conclude the regular season. They raced out to a 16-4 lead as Bradley hit three 3-pointers in the first quarter alone.

But something was off.

“I thought watching film that we could press them,” Tracy said. “But it just wasn’t clicking. So at halftime, we got out of that and went back to what has been working for us this year. That’s on me. I’ve got to stick with what we’ve done well and I can’t fiddle around with it at this point in the season.”

Holding a commanding 41-15 advantage, the Gaels would continue to apply heavy pressure on the Rockets, forcing 42 turnovers in all. They were a sound 7 of 12 shooting from the field in the third quarter, as Huss sank two triples and Palmer scored eight in the period.

“It was the perfect night for Abby to get out of her slump,” Tracy said. “That’s all I’m going to say about that.”

Tracy was able to completely clear his bench in the fourth, allowing extended time on the floor for many players.

Bradley, who came into the night having hit a team-high 37 triples, made at least one in each quarter. She now has 62 made 3-pointers in her Gael career.

“I never realized how fast four years could go,” Bradley said. “I am beyond grateful for everything St. Edmond basketball has brought me. It definitely felt so good to have a game like that in what possibly could be my last time ever playing in the gym competitively.”

The seven wins for the Gaels are the most in a season since going 8-17 in 2016-17 while the 73 points are the most since scoring 77 in a win on Feb. 17, 2015 over West Hancock.

ST. EDMOND 73, PATON-CHURDAN 24

St. Edmond — Anna Lursen 4-6 0-0 8, Payton Bradley 9-16 0-0 25, Chloe Palmer 6-12 3-5 16, Abby Huss 4-8 0-2 12, Josie Harvey 2-10 0-0 4, Sophia Schlienz 1-3 0-0 3, Maggie Flaherty 0-0 0-0 0, Ava Bradley 0-2 0-0 0, Braelynn Rees 1-2 0-0 3, Morgan Lewis 0-2 0-0 0, Evie Heldorfer 0-0 0-0 0, Olivia Andrew 1-2 0-0 2, Jade Rock 0-1 0-2 0, Ava Andrew 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 28-64 3-9 73.

Paton-Churdan — Ava Minnehan 0-4 0-0 0, Kaliyah Minnehan 2-2 1-2 5, Grace Cullum 1-2 3-4 5, Alivya Smith 2-9 5-6 9, Ella Tasler 2-2 0-0 4, Holly Miller 0-1 0-2 0, Maggie Reed 0-2 0-0 0, Isabella Hirsch 0-0 0-0 0, Shianne Teed 0-0 1-2 1, Madison Roper 0-0 0-0 0, Abbi Summers 0-0 0-0 0, Lily Trecker 0-0 0-0 0, Lauren Oakes 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 7-22 10-16 24.

Quarter scores: St. Edmond led 21-8, 41-15, 60-22. Three-point goals: St. Edmond 14-33 (P. Bradley 7-12, Palmer 1-3, Huss 4-8, Harvey 0-3, Schlienz 1-3, Rees 1-2, Lewis 0-2), Paton-Churdan 0-5 (A. Minnehan 0-1, Smith 0-2, Reed 0-2). Total rebounds: St. Edmond 28, Paton-Churdan 26. Steals: St. Edmond 23, Paton-Churdan 10. Turnovers: St. Edmond 16, Paton-Churdan 42. Team fouls: St. Edmond 15, Paton-Churdan 10.