Geneva finds its shot, sinks St. Charles East
When your team has struggled lately from an offensive standpoint, you naturally work on correcting the issue.
"We worked on shooting," Geneva girls basketball coach Sarah Meadows said of her team's recent offensive slump that coincided with the Vikings' 4-5 record over their last 9 regular-season games.
"We worked a little more on separate post and guard stuff but for us, it's just about confidence. We're trying to tell these kids that they can get it done. They have to believe that and they have to believe in each other."
The extra work paid off Tuesday night as the 2nd-seeded Vikings (19-11) began their postseason with a convincing 54-30 Class 4A regional semifinal triumph over 18th-seeded St. Charles East in Geneva. They advance to Thursday night's regional championship game against No. 6 Glenbard West.
Clinging to a 5-4 early lead, Geneva put the game out of reach with a 21-0 run that covered more than 9 minutes - the last 4:52 of the first quarter and the opening 4:27 of the second period.
The Vikings stretched that 26-4 lead to a 34-11 halftime margin.
"Defensively, we were doing things that we haven't done for weeks," said Saints coach Aubree Schuett, whose team knocked off Hoffman Estates 60-47 in Monday's regional quarterfinals. "Could that be because we played last night? Maybe, but they're (the Vikings) a two-time state championship basketball team. All the credit goes to them."
Junior Lindsay Blackmore, a member of Geneva's back-to-back state title teams, led all scorers with 19 points, 17 of them coming in the first half on 7-of-8 shooting from the field.
"Once we hit a shot in a game, it kind of gets us going - not just the person who makes the shot," said Blackmore, who converted three 3-point plays in the first half.
"We kind of found a weakness so we were dumping it down in the post because they weren't having back-side help. It worked out."
Sophomore Kate Palmer, playing in her first postseason game, added 10 points and 6 rebounds, while Kelly McCloughan and Cassidy Navigato chipped in with 9 and 8 points, respectively.
"We were struggling with catch and shoot," said Meadows, whose team shot 53 percent (19 of 36) from the field. "We told them not to second-guess it. If you're open, get it done."
The Vikings connected on six 3-pointers - 2 each by Blackmore and Navigato.
Senior Ashley DiOrio and freshman Torrie Kortan paced the Saints (6-24) with 11 points and 8 rebounds apiece.
"I could not be more proud of my kids - I don't look at this as a negative," said Schuett. "This has been quite a journey for this group. They have come a very long way."