Geneva handles Wheaton North in battle of DKC leaders
Geneva entered Friday night's DuKane Conference battle for first place with Wheaton North on a rare 3-game losing streak.
Those losses all came against top-notch competition at the Montini Christmas Tournament. And the Vikings were determined to use them to their benefit.
Geneva did just that Friday, forcing 27 turnovers and getting big nights offensively from Lindsay Blackmore and Kate Palmer in a 59-49 victory.
"We learned a lot of things about ourselves at that tournament and this game really showed we can come back from it," said Palmer, a sophomore guard. "It was hard but it was definitely worth it. In the end it made us a better team. We worked on our press both offense and defense and I thought it showed well today."
The win puts No. 5 Geneva (10-5, 4-0) alone in first place in the DuKane Conference ahead of the No. 6 Falcons (12-2, 4-1).
Blackmore scored 17 of her 24 points in the first half, then Palmer took on a bigger scoring load in the second half when she tallied 13 of her 18 points. Blackmore also grabbed a game-high 9 rebounds and Palmer had 7 including several on the offensive end in the third quarter she converted for second-chance points.
Grace Hinchman added 9 points, 4 rebounds and 3 steals. Those three scored 51 of the Vikings' 59 points.
"We learned our weaknesses and what we need to work on in conference and postseason too," said Blackmore, whose team will get another tough nonconference test Saturday when they face Nazareth. "Our goal was to put pressure on them and speed them up and get some quick baskets. We wanted to close out on their shooters and get the rebound."
Hinchman opened the game with a steal and layup. The Falcons took their only lead of the night at 5-4 on a 3-pointer from Claire Hyde and Jenna Kortenhoeven's basket.
Geneva pulled ahead 13-8 after one quarter and 28-23 at halftime, then started the second half on a 10-0 run. The Falcons turned the ball over 9 times in the third quarter.
"Defensively that's what they do to a lot of teams and they got into us," Falcons coach Dave Eaton said. "We did not get into them as well as we wanted to and that's a credit to them on both sides of the ball. I thought they stayed composed and handled pressure."
A couple long 3-pointers from Nikki Baird and Sarah Topps got the Falcons as close as 45-39 with 5:12 remaining. But Palmer immediately answered with a 3 for the Vikings, and Blackmore nabbed a steal under the basket that turned into a quick layup as Geneva pulled away again down the stretch.
Hyde led the Falcons with 15 points and Baird scored 12.
"That's the way she's got to play and continue to play," Eaton said of Hyde, a freshman. "I thought she did a really good job. We just have to get a little bit more of a balanced attack than we had tonight."