Geneva stymies Burlington Central in 4th quarter
For all the games the Burlington Central and Geneva girls basketball teams have won through the years, their paths had not crossed until Saturday night at the Kaneland Shootout.
Their first meeting could not have been much more even for three-and-a-half quarters. Margaret Whitley and Sam Pryor traded 3s in the final 20 seconds of the third quarter for a 35-35 tie, then neither team scored for the first 4 minutes of the fourth.
Geneva senior Colleen Grady finally broke the deadlock with a midrange jumper, and the Vikings' defense did the rest, holding the Rockets to 2 fourth-quarter points for a 43-37 victory.
Burlington Central (20-4) made just 1 of 9 shots in the fourth quarter and turned the ball over 6 times. Sophomore Maddie Yelle sealed the win with a steal and breakaway layup with 30 seconds left.
"We focused more on getting out on the shooters because they were on fire the majority of the game," Yelle said. "We had to rotate and help each other out."
Geneva (20-4) bounced back from Friday's loss at the buzzer to Batavia. Grace Loberg again led the way with 13 points, 12 rebounds, 6 steals and 3 assists.
"This team has a lot of heart," Geneva coach Sarah Meadows said. "I knew they would answer. I thought today they would come out with something to prove."
The Vikings started quickly, scoring on their first three possessions. They led 10-3 after a Loberg putback.
Burlington Central scored the final 7 points of the first quarter to tie the game, then got a Rebecca Gerke baseline jumper, a Shelby Holt corner 3, and 2 Pryor free throws to complete a 14-2 run and grab their biggest lead of the night, 17-12.
Geneva came right back with a 10-2 burst, taking a 22-19 lead into the locker room sparked by a Bri Borkowicz 3-point play, and Yelle's jumper on an assist from Grady.
The back and forth continued throughout the third quarter. Holt hit a pair of 3s for the Rockets, who finished with more 3-point baskets (7) than 2-point field goals (4). Pryor's triple to end the quarter was the 12th and final tie or lead change.
Geneva also came out sluggish in the fourth quarter but seemed to find its footing after Grady's jumper for a 37-35 lead with 3:52 left.
"She's capable of that," Meadows said. "She has a nice outside shot. I like the confidence."
Whitley stole an inbounds pass and fed Taylor Williams for a layup. Whitley also assisted Loberg after a loose ball scramble for a bucket that made it 41-35 with 2 minutes remaining.
Holt's long jumper with 1:16 left ended the Rockets' long drought.
It was too little, too late.
"In the fourth quarter we couldn't quite attack it and we didn't get enough open looks," Rockets coach Mark Smith said. "We missed a handful of layups. We have to have other girls step up because we're going to see box-and-one and triangle-and-two in the playoffs. Other girls are capable of doing it."
Holt led all scorers with 15 points and Pryor added 11 for the Rockets who gained confidence by playing Geneva much better than a recent loss to Montini.
"I thought we played really well," Smith said. "I was really pleased. Obviously not pleased with the outcome at the end but for three-and-a-half quarters we were right there with them. One or two things we can fix and we'll be fine."
Yelle (8), Whitley (7) and Williams (6) combined for 21 points for the Vikings.
"I've wanted to play them," Meadows said of the Rockets. "When they asked us to do this I asked if we could play them. I would like to play them every year. It's a good game for us, good competition."