Geneva again survives St. Charles North's comeback
That's two Geneva-St. Charles North thrillers, two games both decided by two points - and much to the chagrin of the North Stars, two Viking victories.
The North Stars are trying to get to where the Vikings are, and they are getting agonizingly close, this time losing 60-58 Friday when Emma Peters took a charge on Nichole Davidson at the buzzer with the North Star senior driving trying to send the game to overtime.
Peters was in the game with Geneva's Janie McCloughan and Abby Novak in foul trouble and Grace Loberg out of the game with an ankle injury, as the Vikings (14-4, 8-0) dug deep to keep their Upstate Eight River record perfect.
"Peters rocks," Geneva coach Sarah Meadows said. "It's awesome. Big, big play for her. Good to see. She is very, very smart defensively."
Davidson got to the line 11 times in the game, and St. Charles North (10-7, 4-3) wouldn't have minded seeing two more.
"All game long they called blocks, all game long they had been calling that call a block," Masconcup said. "To call it a charge with no time on the clock is a real tough pill to swallow.
"It's not the refs, it never is, they bust their butts and it's a tough game to officiate. You move on. It was just a great game, fun to be part of."
There were plenty of similarities to the team's first meeting, a 50-48 Geneva win when the Vikings also withstood a furious North Star fourth-quarter charge.
"Very big battles," Novak said. "They are such a good team. They hustle from the start to the end of the game. Such good competitors but tonight we pulled it out again which is awesome."
St. Charles North came out on fire making 5 of 6 three-point attempts in the opening quarter against Geneva's 2-3 zone. Claire Jakaitis and Ashling Davern both had a pair, the second from Jakaitis putting the North Stars up 15-12.
That turned out to be their final lead. Kate Rogers nailed a 3 to tie the game going to the second quarter, kicking off a 14-4 run that ended with Masoncup calling timeout down 26-19 after a Courtney Reynolds steal, pass to Margaret Whitley who bounced to McCloughan for a lay-in.
Geneva extended its lead to 34-23 on 3s from freshmen guards Whitley and Stephanie Hart before the Vikings lost their standout sophomore center Loberg when someone stepped on her left ankle.
Loberg was helped to the locker room and didn't play in the second half. She was walking gingerly afterward and said she did not know if she would play Saturday night at the McDonald's Shootout.
"We didn't know if she would play at halftime," Novak said. "We didn't plan anything at half until she got back and said she can't play. We had players step up for her."
"They are responding which is exactly what we want them to do," Meadows said. "We talked at halftime we don't have Grace and everyone will have to do a little bit more."
The Vikings lost three of four games when Loberg missed the Montini Christmas tournament, and it didn't take long for the North Stars to capitalize on her absence. Jakaitis and Morgan Rosencrants scored inside to start the second half, and Rosencrants' steal and three-point play capped an 11-2 run to open the third quarter and tie the game at 39.
Geneva responded with a Whitley 3 to regain the lead, which stood at 48-44 going to the fourth quarter after Davern's third 3.
Davidson repeatedly took the ball at Geneva in the last quarter, scoring her team's first 12 points and getting to the line 10 times.
With its lead cut to 52-49, McCloughan and Hart hit jumpers and McCloughan and Novak combined for 3 free throws to give Geneva a 59-49 cushion.
"In games like that every single play is important," McCloughan said. "When you make a good play your teammate is going to feed off that and they will make a good play. It just kind of all flows together and you are able to play well as a team."
Davidson again brought the North Stars back, helped by four Geneva turnovers in the last three minutes. Her bucket cut Geneva's lead to 60-56 with 55 seconds left.
The Vikings turned it over again, and Rosencrants scored inside to make it 60-58 with 33 seconds to go.
It took awhile for the North Stars to foul, finally sending Whitley to the line with 7.8 seconds left. She missed, and the North Stars quickly pushed the ball up court to Davidson, who made the same move she had most of the night from the left wing down the lane.
Peters was waiting, and Davidson was called for a charge as her shot came up short as the buzzer sounded.
"Last play was tough but what are you going to do," Davidson said. "It was a tough loss. We played our best and I thought we definitely deserved that game."
Davidson led all scores with 23 points, Jakaitis had 14 and Davern and Rosencrants both had 9.
Rosencrants paced the North Stars with 9 rebounds, yet the Vikings still dominated 38-22 even with Loberg out.
"Both teams played their butts off," Masconcup said. "It was a punch here, punch there. It was a fun basketball game."
McCloughan (22 points, 11 rebounds) and Novak (11 points, 10 rebounds) both had double-doubles while Whitley and Hart added 9 points each.
"It feels good to finish in close games like that because we have been in that position more than we would like," McCloughan said. "We're excited about this win. It's a big win for us."