advertisement

Geneva rallies, tips Batavia in OT

Batavia had Geneva on the ropes for much of the Class 4A Schaumburg sectional semifinal Monday night, but Bri Borkowicz and the Vikings didn't let the Bulldogs deliver the knockout punch.

Borkowicz drained a 3-pointer with 5.9 seconds left to force overtime, then Grace Loberg and Margaret Whitley carried the Vikings from there to a 48-44 victory that fans on both sides are going to remember a long time.

"I was trying not to think about it," Borkowicz said. "When it came to me I knew I needed to shoot the ball. The whole game I was off and I knew I needed to make that shot."

Geneva (25-4) advances to the sectional championship game at 7 p.m. Thursday against No. 1 seed Montini.

Batavia got off a corner 3-pointer at the buzzer that went long. Loberg scored on Geneva's first two possessions of overtime and in a back-and-forth game that neither team led by more than 6 points, the Vikings never trailed again.

"We knew this was going to be a battle," Geneva coach Sarah Meadows said. "It was a defensive battle all night long. Bri can do that and we have the most confidence in her."

Despite setting a school record for wins in a memorable season that saw Batavia (26-6) win a share of the UEC River, the way it ended is going to be hard for the Bulldogs to stomach.

Batavia had a 6-point lead in the fourth quarter and Loberg on the bench with 4 fouls. A couple rough offensive possessions followed, and Whitley swished 2 clutch 3s to tie the game at 32 with 4:40 left.

"The key to this win was mental toughness," Whitley said. "We had to keep fighting to get the win and that's exactly what we did. I'm so proud of my team."

The Bulldogs made just 2 of 9 free throws in the fourth quarter. They still led 35-32 when Jess Koch drilled a 3 with 3:30 left on Mackenzie Foster's dish, then after Hannah Frazier deflected a Geneva pass to Bethany Orman, freshman Geddy Rerko scored and was fouled for a 37-32 lead with 2:51.

Whitley's 2 free throws cut Batavia's lead to 1, and after both teams came up empty on consecutive possessions, Stephanie Hart followed a pair of missed Batavia free throws with a pullup jumper bringing Geneva within 37-36 with :59 left.

Orman split free throws for a 2-point lead, and after Loberg missed 2 at the line Batavia again was poised for the win when Frazier was fouled at :31.5.

Batavia's all-time leading scorer made 1 of 2, leaving the door open. Meadows called timeout, and Batavia coach Kevin Jensen, after debating fouling with the 3-point lead, instead went zone for what he said was their first time this year.

The Bulldogs succeeded in taking away Whitley and Hart but Borkowicz found herself open on the wing and buried the shot for her only 3 points of the game.

"Bri rocks, that was an awesome shot," Whitley said. "Stephanie made a great pass."

"I told the girls that one is going to haunt me for awhile," Jensen said. "We just kind of overplayed one way. As the play developed I thought this is a man play, we should have somebody sitting there. But if nothing else, she hit a great shot, but we also took way option 1 and 2."

Whitley's 3 in overtime gave Geneva a 46-41 lead. Shea Bayram's third 3-pointer brought Batavia within 46-44, and after a Geneva offensive foul the Bulldogs had a chance to tie or go ahead in the final minute but threw the ball away. Whitley's 2 free throws at :28.3 made it a 2-possession game, and Batavia didn't score again.

"That was a kind of an Achilles' heel for us all year," Jensen said of the team's 7-of-18 free-throw shooting.

Both teams struggled offensively in the first half. Geneva led 12-11 after one quarter and used a 9-0 run in the second quarter to go into halftime up 21-17.

Batavia's own 10-0 run spanning the second and third quarters left the Bulldogs up 25-21, and then the game really took a twist when Loberg was whistled for 4 fouls in the third quarter. Her third and fourth came in a 2-second span, and she went to the bench from :52.9 in the third until 5:21 remained in the fourth - yet Batavia didn't capitalize as its 29-25 lead became a 32-32 tie while Loberg was out.

"I was getting nervous but we knew we had time left and a lot of fight in ourselves," Loberg said. "I was just angry, I was angry at myself, I was angry at how things were going. I just had to stay positive out there."

Whitley led all scorers with 17 points, and despite her foul trouble Loberg had 14 points, 17 rebounds, 4 steals and 3 blocked shots while Frazier scored 16 with 9 rebounds in the final game of her record-setting career.

"These games are going to be great memories," Loberg said. "I'm happy we played them and I'm happy we beat them. I respect them 100 percent. they are a great team. Hannah is going to do great things in college. It's been cool to play against her."

"They did everything and more we could ever ask of them," Jensen said of a senior class that included starters Frazier, Orman, Koch and Bayram.

Images: Geneva over Batavia in OT, 48-44 in sectional girls basketball

  Geneva's Grace Loberg scores the first points of overtime against Batavia Monday in the 4A sectional semifinal game in Schaumburg. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
  Geneva's Madeline Yelle is defended by Batavia's Bethany Orman and Hannah Frazier Monday in the 4A sectional semifinal game in Schaumburg. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
  Geneva's Grace Loberg reaches over Batavia's Jessica Koch for a rebound, but is called for a foul Monday in the 4A sectional semifinal game in Schaumburg. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.