Geneva rattles South Elgin

Most experts in the health care industry suggest applying pressure to an open wound in the attempt to minimize blood loss.

In the case of Geneva’s girls basketball team, applying pressure seems to make wounds bleed a little more.

Mixing a tight man-to-man defense with their vaunted diamond press, the Vikings (6-2) forced 18 first-half turnovers while building a seemingly comfortable 40-17 halftime lead over South Elgin Saturday afternoon in Mack Olson Gym.

While the Storm (4-3) crept to within 11 late in the game and enjoyed a 35-27 second-half surge, the Vikings emerged with a 67-52 victory in Upstate Eight Conference crossover action.

“We were clicking in the first half,” said Vikings coach Sarah Meadows, whose team led by as many as 26 points early in the third quarter. “We were moving the ball well, getting some touches and hitting shots from the outside.

“We used a full man (press) and we tried our diamond there in the second quarter,” added Meadows. “We’re not quite there yet but they’re fast so it helped slow them down.”

Sophomore Abby Novak (13 points, 6 steals, 5 rebounds, 2 blocked shots) had 11 first-half points with 4 steals and a pair of rebounds.

“Abby’s making a huge impact,” said Meadows. “She boards, blocks shots, and gets back on defense — she’s just a hard worker. She started off a little slow (this season) and now she’s starting to play exactly the way she can.”

Morgan Seberger led the Vikings with 15 points, while senior forward Sami Pawlak added 14 points, 13 rebounds and 4 steals in her second game back from a broken finger.

“We’ve been working on our press a lot the last couple games,” said Pawlak. “It worked real well in the game tonight.”

Senior guard Nell Wentling scored 13 of her game-high 20 points in the second half and finished with 4 3-pointers for the Storm, while Kennede Miller added 11 points and a pair of blocked shots.

“It’s a good thing we had the lead that we had,” said Meadows. “They beat us in the second half. If that lead is any less, it’s a lot closer game. It’s a credit to them — they did not stop at all.”