Geneva survives St. Charles North's comeback
It was almost like all the fans who came out to watch Geneva and St. Charles North get their Upstate Eight Conference River Division schedule underway Thursday in St. Charles were treated to two games for the price of one.
The first game was all Geneva, the Vikings forcing one North Star turnover after another to build leads of 33-19 at halftime and 37-19 early in the third quarter.
Then came the second game. St. Charles North called timeout, got mad and almost got even. The North Stars outscored the Vikings 29-13 the rest of the game and got as close as 1 point with possession in the final minute of the game.
Add it all up and Geneva escaped with a 50-48 victory, one that ended up being much more tension-filled than its pair of lopsided wins over St. Charles North (3-2, 0-1) last year.
“I need to look at the film,” Geneva coach Sarah Meadows said. “Free throws, god awful. I think it's momentum. They got it. We miss, they make, we miss, they make.”
The free throws were bad for Geneva (5-0, 1-0), just 9 of 22 — and removing Janie McCloughan's 5 of 7 the rest of the team went 4 for 15.
The Vikings did make just enough at the line in the final minute, 3 of 6, after a furious comeback by the North Stars, who outscored Geneva 17-7 in the final quarter.
After Geneva freshman Stephanie Hart took a feed from fellow freshman Margaret Whitley to nail a 3 and give Geneva a 43-31 lead heading to the fourth, Claire Jakaitis got the rally going with a basket inside and then a corner 3-pointer.
Morgan Rosencrants split free throws, then Kyla Helsel's fourth assist — to Jakaitis — brought the North Stars within 47-41 with two minutes left.
Nichole Davidson drained a long jumper to make it 47-43, and after the Vikings were called for carrying the ball, Davidson drove hard and scored while being fouled. She made the free throw with 50 seconds left, and it was 47-46.
Geneva traveled, giving the North Stars a chance at the lead, but Davidson was called for traveling on her way down the lane again. Abby Novak split free throws for a 48-46 lead; Rosencrants tried for the tie inside but Grace Loberg contested her shot and grabbed the rebound.
Novak again split free throws with 11 seconds left, and Davidson was called for traveling while fighting McCloughan for the rebound. Whitley's free throw with 6 seconds left made it a 4-point game and rendered Rosencrants' final bucket moot.
“The fourth quarter I feel like some of the pressure got to us and we didn't come out as ready to play,” Whitley said. “But I feel we stepped up again and were really focused and did our best at the end.”
Whitley led Geneva with 14 points including three 3s in the first half.
“I was just looing for my teammates and making sure we were all playing as a team but when I had my shot I was going to look for it,” Whitley said.
McCloughan added 11 points and 4 steals, Loberg 8 points and 8 rebounds. In addition to Whitley, Geneva got bench scoring from Colleen Grady and Hart with 5 points each.
“I think we jumped on them early, looked really good early,” Meadows said. “I feel it is a pattern for us we play well and we kind of go off in our own world a little. I told the kids after the game we have to focus better.”
Davidson topped all players with 15 points and 11 rebounds; Jakaitis battled foul trouble to score all 9 of her points in the second half, and Rosencrants and Ashling Davern both added 8.
“We called a timeout and got after each other and challenged them,” North Stars coach Sean Masoncup said. “I really love how we came out and performed and competed. We took it to them. They took it to us that first half. It was a great basketball game. It was fun, it was loud, it was a great Thursday night game. It showed how much they cared and how much passion they have to come back.”
Masoncup, who was honored before the game for winning the IHSA Tennis Coach of the Year, saw his team cut their 20 first-half turnovers to 9 in the second, but not even 55 percent shooting from the field (17 for 31) could overcome the 29 turnovers.
“We were not being intelligent with some of our decision-making,” Masoncup said. “But I think we showed how good we can be in that second half.”