WW South finishes against Geneva
Meghan Waldron said Wheaton Warrenville South's word this year is “finish.”
Boy, did the Tigers finish with a flourish Monday.
No. 3 seed WW South scored the last 7 points of the third quarter and ended the game on a 12-0 run for a 54-37 win over No. 2 Geneva at the Class 4A Hoffman Estates sectional.
“The first half we missed so many layups,” Waldron said. “We knew we had opportunities — we just had to finish them. The second half we did.”
WW South (28-3), which advanced to the sectional final for the first time since 2007, has a golden opportunity in front of itself now: a date with No. 1 Bartlett Thursday night, the Tigers' first sectional title since 1997 on the line.
“I told the kids we want opportunities — this is what we're here for,” WW South coach Rob Kroehnke said, “and what a great opportunity. We'll be ready.”
WW South did anything but finish well in the first half, missing numerous layups in a ragged 16 minutes on both sides that featured a combined 25 turnovers.
The Tigers settled in after the break, with just 4 turnovers the rest of the way. A young WW South team with just one senior starter showed it came a long way since a 65-58 loss to Geneva in December.
“We didn't change a thing in the second half,” Kroehnke said. “We were just going a little too fast. We're a young team, but we were really young in December. I think we grew up a little in the second half.”
Waldron was the catalyst, scoring 11 of her 17 points in the second half. The sophomore point guard hit a short jumper WW South's first trip down, twice went coast-to-coast for layups and hit a pretty runner in the lane midway through the third quarter to give the Tigers the lead for good at 27-26.
“When Meghan has the ball in her hands and she's going, we're fine,” Kroenke said. “When Meghan wants somebody else to bring it up we're in trouble. Talk about a press-breaker.”
Geneva (24-6), which had won three straight sectional titles prior to this year, took a 23-21 lead into halftime, sparked by Rachel Hinchman's 7 points and 5 from Sami Pawlak.
But Geneva went scoreless the final 5:23 of the third quarter after a Kelly Gordon basket, and the last 3 minutes of the game. Several Vikings missed shots late led to WW South run-outs to expand its lead.
“Offensively we just struggled,” Geneva coach Sarah Meadows said. “I thought we got shots, we just couldn't make them. We weren't aggressive enough. We just needed more.”
“Amazing job defensively,” Kroehnke said. “It was a 4-point game and then all of a sudden it was 14.”
Kasey Gassensmith added 14 points and Maggie Dansdill 11 for WW South. The Tigers got a boost off the bench from freshman Olivia Linebarger, who scored 9 points — the biggest shot a 3 as time expired in the third quarter for a 32-26 lead.
“We wanted to show Geneva that we were a better team than we were the first time we played them,” Waldron said. “We picked our intensity up in that third quarter.”
Hinchman scored 11 points and Michaela Loebel 10 for Geneva. Loebel, a sophomore, is one of four Vikings starters back next year — a group that could get an emotional lift getting Sidney Santos on the court for the first time. Meadows looked ready to go, with practice sweats on after the game.
“I told the girls I think we exited way too early,” said Meadows, “but Wheaton South is a very good team.”