Geneva loses 2nd straight

The recent shooting woes for the Geneva girls basketball team continued in the final game of the Coach Kipp Hoopsfest Saturday night.

Loyola took advantage of the Vikings' 26-percent shooting from the field to hand Geneva its second consecutive loss, a 49-42 defeat, at Willowbrook High School in Villa Park.

Loyola guard Erin Dillion hit three of the Ramblers' six 3-pointers in leading two other teammates in double figures with a team-best 13 points.

The Ramblers (16-4) took the lead midway through the first quarter and stretched the advantage to as much as 20 points before Geneva could mount a spirited comeback in the waning moments.

But the Vikings (15-3), who were 13-for-50 from the field for the game, missed three 3-point attempts in the final minute.

"I feel like we're a little off with our shooting," said Geneva senior Stephanie Hart, who had a game-high 15 points and 4 rebounds. "I don't know if it's with our feet not being set or what. Our shooting isn't at its best right now."

The one area where the Vikings were able to control the flow of the game was on the glass.

Geneva enjoyed a 38-28 advantage in rebounding, including four times as many second-chance opportunities on offensive rebounds (16-4).

The Vikings' Maddy Yelle not only scored 14 points but collected six of her game-high 11 rebounds at the offensive end.

But time and again, Loyola was able to generate breakouts after corralling Geneva misses.

Geneva had a particularly extended dry spell closing out the first and beginning the second quarter. The Vikings were truly in fight-back mode after Addtee Morrill and Dillon had quarter-closing 3-pointers to give Loyola a 30-17 lead at halftime.

Loyola then scored the first 7 points of the third quarter to create the largest spread of the night.

"We took this game as a challenge," Dillon said.

The Vikings missed 15 of their 17 field-goal attempts from beyond the arc, but Brie Borkowicz did connect for the lone Geneva long-range jumper to narrow the Loyola lead to 41-27 after three.

The Ramblers' spread was 15 points when Geneva mounted one last-ditch counterattack.

Margaret Whitley and Yelle had inside scores before Hart filled 4 straight points to bring Geneva to within 48-42.

Loyola sabotaged its own cause by missing 5 free throws, including three consecutive front ends of bonuses, in the process.

"They for sure gave us life," Geneva coach Sarah Meadows said.

"It definitely keeps your hope alive," Hart said of the missed freebies.

But the Loyola lead was too great in the end.

"We have to get that groove back," Meadows said.