Blackmore's perfect 3-point shooting sinks St. Charles East

Perhaps nothing has changed the game of basketball in the past 30-plus years than the 3-point basket.

The Illinois High School Association officially adopted the 3-pointer as a part of the game for both boys and girls for the 1987-1988 season.

Geneva's girls basketball team put its long-range marksmanship on display during Saturday afternoon's 65-48 DuKane Conference victory over visiting St. Charles East (4-20, 2-8).

The Vikings (16-8, 8-1) stayed atop the conference standings by hitting 11 3-pointers, including a perfect 5-for-5 shooting performance from 6-foot junior guard/forward Lindsay Blackmore, who scored a game-high 23 points.

"We practice it all the time," said Blackmore, who added 4 rebounds, 4 steals and 3 blocked shots while hitting 8 of 12 field-goal attempts. "We get a lot of shots up in practice. In games, we always look for the drives and get those open shots and we do a nice job of knocking them down, too."

Six different Geneva players connected on 3-pointers, including Kate Palmer (2), Katie Montgomery, Cassidy Navigato, Emma Davine and Emma Kornak.

"I feel we're sharing the ball a lot better, too, so we're getting in the lane and when they (opponents) collapse, we're able to find those kids out there and then they're knocking down big shots," said Vikings coach Sarah Meadows.

In their last meeting a little more than a month ago, the Vikings' pressure defense suffocated the Saints early during a 19-0 first-quarter run on the way to a 49-25 victory.

This time, the Saints put up a much-improved effort.

Led by seniors Emily Vitkus (10 points), Lexi Kiefer (9 points, 5 rebounds) and Ashley DiOrio (8 points, 10 rebounds), the Saints trailed 31-24 at halftime - and that margin was boosted by Davine's buzzer-beating 3-pointer.

Kiefer's driving layup pulled the Saints within 42-34 with 3:08 left in the third quarter.

"We're making progress and that is the number one thing," said Saints coach Aubree Schuett. "These games are small increments of confidence building. Our theme has been as long as we continue to make progress, we're in good shape."

Geneva used an 8-1 run over the last 2:18 of the third quarter to stretch its lead to 50-35.

Blackmore helped seal the deal for the Vikings with her back-to-back 3-pointers on feeds from Grace Hinchman and Palmer (8 points) to make it 56-36 early in the fourth quarter.

"It's a huge part of our offense," Blackmore said of the 3-point shot. "We rely on it a lot. I think we rely on it too much sometimes but that's just something we need to work on."

It helps to have a talented player like Blackmore on your roster as well.

"Lindsay looked really good today," said Meadows. "She had a rough week last week and I thought she came out with a different attitude and a different mentality. I know she's putting some pressure on herself as well but I thought she played really well today."