Geneva surges past Prospect
When senior guard Angelina Villasin went racing through the lane and scooped in a nifty layup, Prospect's girls basketball team held a 10-6 lead over Geneva on Saturday afternoon.
But all of a sudden, the Vikings found their best stride.
The matinee game of the 26th annual Subway Chicagoland Girls Prep Basketball Classic took a sharp turn as Geneva went on a 19-3 run.
The offensive explosion culminated with a free throw from sophomore Maddy Yelle with 4:46 left in the second quarter and Geneva led 25-13. The Vikings never looked back en route to 70-48 triumph at Willowbrook High School in Villa Park.
"We got out and started to run," said Geneva coach Sarah Meadows of the 19-3 burst. "We just adjusted to the start of the game and started rolling. We set the tempo."
The Vikings used a balanced offense to improve their record to 14-3 as Margaret Whitley led the way with 15 points. She was followed by Brie Borkowicz (11), Grace Loberg (10), Taylor Williams (9), Colleen Grady (9) and Stephanie Hart (8).
The 6-foot-2 Loberg also pulled down 8 rebounds and had a blocked shot.
"Grace always plays huge," said Meadows, whose club lost to Prospect 47-34 a year ago in this same event. "I thought we passed the ball really well (Borkowicz had 3 assists) and found the open person. It was one of our better team efforts."
Hart, Ashley Shogren and Whitley each had 2 assists.
Prospect (7-14) was led by seniors Nikki Matters (17 points, 5 rebounds) and Angela Roman (10 points, 2 rebounds). Sophomore Margherite Pettenuzzo chipped in 6 points.
Leading in assists were Villasin (4), Brenda Kendziera (3) and Eileen Donohue (2). Kendziera also grabbed 5 rebounds.
The Knights have been without junior all-area guard Haley Will (illness) all season and recently have lost senior Clare O'Carroll (ankle) and sophomore Emily Frasco (knee).
"It all happened in a week (injuries to O'Carroll and Frasco), so it's hard without key players on the floor," Villasin said. "We are definitely having to work a lot harder to keep up with the other teams."
Junior Kendra Gancarz and senior Olivia Sykes also made it into the scoring column for Prospect, which will hold senior night on Friday when Elk Grove visits.
"At different points of the season, we have been without four different starters," said Prospect coach Gabrielle Lovin. "So trying to find consistency and rhythm has been difficult with changing lineups.
"Geneva is a good team with only three losses and one to an out-of-state team. They shot lights out in the first half and they transitioned well on us."
Lovin likes the Knights' attitude.
"They haven't given up at all," said the former Prospect and Manhattan College standout. "There is no need to. We'll keep pushing and working hard to regionals."