Geneva handles West Aurora
Keva Tomas' lone field goal reduced the Geneva girls basketball lead to 5 points late in the opening half in Aurora Tuesday evening.
But the Vikings' Briana Borkowicz and Margaret Whitley hit back-to-back 3-pointers right before halftime to trump Tomas' score from beyond the arc.
The Vikings' 11-point lead at the break was their largest of the opening two quarters.
Geneva scored the first 7 points of the third quarter and never looked back in winning the Upstate Eight Conference crossover against West Aurora 57-42.
The No. 3 Vikings (14-2) never trailed as the only three ties of the game were forged in the first quarter after the two teams exchanged the opening 12 points.
"Every day we are pushed in practice," said Geneva senior reserve guard Emily Uplegger, who drained 3-pointers in both halves in scoring 6 points for the Vikings. "We work well together. A lot of that is (coach Sarah) Meadows. It really shows on the court."
Grace Loberg, despite sitting out the entire fourth quarter, was the lone player from either school to reach double figures. The 6-foot-2 senior post registered game highs of 12 points and 8 rebounds.
Geneva was a shade under 50 percent from the floor after its collective 23-for-48 performance from the field.
The defense was equally noteworthy as the Blackhawks (8-8) needed almost 12 minutes of playing time after halftime to reach double digits in second-half production.
"I told the girls after the game in the locker room, 'Let's use this as a learning experience,' " West Aurora coach Connie Siljendahl said. "(The Geneva girls) dribble with a purpose. They have so many weapons. They just don't have one or two kids. Whitley is one of the best guards in the area."
The Borkowicz and Whitley 3-pointers to close out the second quarter gave Geneva 32-21 lead at halftime.
"That's huge," Meadows said of the two 3-pointers to end the first half. "Our first-quarter shooting wasn't very good. We were 1-for-6 from the arc. I thought we started to get some stops (defensively). It was nice to make some (3-pointers)."
The Vikings' Stephanie Hart scored 6 of her 9 points in the third quarter.
Meadows had the luxury to rest her starters after a 20-7 run bridging the second and third quarters gave Geneva its largest lead of the game at 51-28.
"We have been a little blah (offensively) lately," Hart said. "I'm going to be working on my shooting."
The Blackhawks had a 10-point unanswered run when facing their largest deficit.
West Aurora juniors Skylar Doby and Essence Rayford scored 8 points each to lead the team.