Batavia ends 6-year drought against Geneva
Senior Liza Fruendt finally got to celebrate a Batavia win over Geneva for the first time Friday, though she did it from a most unusual spot — the bench.
Fruendt did a little bit of everything in pushing her team to a 7-point lead with two minutes to go but then picked up her fifth foul. Sidney Santos quickly hit a 3-pointer to bring Geneva within 4 points, and suddenly Batavia looked quite vulnerable without the player who at that point had scored 31 of its 52 points.
Fruendt's teammates, however, kept their cool. Erin Bayram scored inside, Bethany Orman drained a couple free throws, and Geneva finished off a cold shooting game with six more misses.
With a 59-51 win, Batavia notched its first victory over Geneva in six years, since Fruendt's sister Sara was a sophomore on the team. Batavia swept Geneva in the regular season that year before the Vikings beat them in the regional.
“I don't have any words for it,” Fruendt said. “Erin and I were making a statement. Batavia girls basketball program is only coming from here. It's all about the team. I trusted my teammates and when I trust my teammates all I can do is have fun and trust I am going to do what I know how to do. I seized the moment and it came out to be our game tonight.”
Batavia (4-1, 1-0 in the Upstate Eight River Conference) took the lead for good 45-44 with 4:40 left in the game on Hannah Frazier's basket. It was the last of 14 lead changes or ties in the back-and-forth game.
After Geneva missed a 1-and-1 free throw — the Vikings were their own worst enemy hitting just 9 of 23 free throws including 4 of 15 in the second half — sophomore Bethany Orman hit the biggest shot of the night, a 3-pointer for a 48-44 lead.
Abby Novak's free throw pulled Geneva within one possession. Fruendt drove for a basket to make it 50-45, then picked Geneva's pocket and went the other way for a layup and a 52-45 lead with 2:20 remaining.
It was the fourth time Fruendt stole the ball and scored on the other end.
Unfortunately the next time Batavia had the ball, Fruendt was called for her fifth foul on a charge when Santos slid in front of her.
Fruendt's teammates had her back, outscoring Geneva 7-6 over the final 1:53.
“After I did that I was like, ‘Oh my Lord, why did I just do that?'” Fruendt said. “But that's why you have a team and my team stepped up. I couldn't have asked for better support and they picked it up. Bethany Orman did an amazing job. That 3-pointer definitely turned things around and she took care of the ball when I wasn't in the game.”
“That was amazing,” Batavia coach Kevin Jensen said. “Bethany Orman grew up very, very fast. She had probably her biggest 3 of her life. She handled the ball and hit some free throws. If she doesn't do that we don't win. That was huge for us.”
Fruendt scored 21 of her points in the first half including three 3-pointers. Batavia lead 32-28 at halftime.
“That's common sense going into a game,” Geneva coach Sarah Meadows said. “We know she's their best player. We have to know where she's at.”
Despite both Michaela Loebel and Santos pick up their fourth fouls in the third quarter, Geneva outscored Batavia 12-7 in the quarter to lead 40-39 going to the fourth.
Batavia couldn't keep Novak (11 points, 15 rebounds) off the boards while Janie McCloughan gave the Vikings a lift off the bench with 9 points and 9 rebounds.
“I thought our young kids stepped up, did a nice job in that quarter,” Meadows said.
In addition to her 31 points, Fruendt finished with 7 rebounds, 6 steals and 4 assists. Orman added 10 points and Frazier had 7 points, 8 rebounds, 3 blocked shots and 2 steals.
“I told the girls it's about time,” Jensen said of beating Geneva. “At a moment when I didn't think things were going well at practice, I reminded our seniors they had a goose egg against them. After that we had a good week of preparation.”
Morgan Seberger made four 3-pointers and led Geneva with 13 points. The Vikings shot just 28 percent (18 of 64) from the field while Batavia converted 43 percent (20 of 46).
Meadows wasn't happy with how her team adjusted from Batavia's switch from a man to a zone and also thought they shot too quickly a few times.
“We're not able to adapt to what defense they are in,” Meadows said. “We've got to get better on that. If I were another team I'd switch defense every other play. Then we'd be a wreck.
“I'm mad whenever we lose. It stings a little more when it's Batavia.”