Geneva defeats Glenbard South for Bach tourney title
Stephanie Hart did a lot of the heavy lifting for Geneva on Wednesday, but Lindsay Blackmore gave the Vikings an important boost.
Hart scored a game-high 13 points, including nine straight during a key stretch in the second half. But Blackmore also impressed in limited playing time as the Vikings knocked off Glenbard South 50-31 in the championship game of the Rachel Bach Tournament at Glenbard East.
Blackmore, a 5-foot-10 freshman, didn't miss a shot, scoring 7 points by making both shots from the floor and all three free-throw attempts.
"She's been a big bonus to the team," Hart said. "I think she brings a bit spark off the bench.
"She's really quick and has a lot of talent. I'm excited to see how the rest of the season goes with her being on the team."
Glenbard South led 19-12 when Hart, a junior guard, sank a 3-pointer, two layups and an 18-foot jumper to put the Vikings ahead to stay.
Blackmore then scored 5 points in a 12-second span, converting a three-point play and then making two free throws, as Geneva (4-0) went into halftime up 26-19.
"I was just trying to get to the basket and finish and get some points so we could get the lead going," Blackmore said. "I was really nervous at first, but it really boosts my confidence and makes me thing that I do belong here."
Geneva coach Sarah Meadows had no doubt of that when she made Blackmore the only freshman on an experienced roster.
"She doesn't look like a freshman, nor does she play like one," Meadows said. "She's very athletic.
"We want her to learn from the kids that she's playing with right now, and she can play with these kids. She'll do a nice job this year."
The rest of the Vikings did a nice job of forcing the Raiders (2-2) into a faster pace in the second half. Glenbard South had no answer for Geneva's full-court press and turned the ball over 20 times.
"We just focused on our shots more and moving our feet on defense and pressuring them," Hart said. "(We were) trying to make them speed up so they went out of their game speed and we could get them at a disadvantage."
It worked. After Ashley Dodge's 3-pointer cut the lead to 26-23 in the third quarter, the Vikings scored 14 straight points, part of a larger 28-4 run.
"We slowed them down, we had them doing what we wanted," Glenbard South coach Morgan Kasperek said. "We just need to work on our basketball IQ a little bit. We got panicked and had a lot of turnovers and we couldn't recover from it."
Margaret Whitley had 10 points, and Grace Loberg added 9 points and 12 rebounds for Geneva. Sophomore center Maggie Bair paced the Raiders with 9 points and 9 rebounds.