Geneva uses 21-0 run in latest victory
It was a journey the Wheaton Academy girls basketball team could ill afford to make.
The Warriors went 10 minutes of their pool-play game against Geneva without scoring, and the Vikings made them pay.
The Vikings scored 21 unanswered points during the Warriors' dry spell and eased to a 55-31 victory Friday afternoon at the 20th annual girls basketball tournament in Geneva.
Nicole Gregory scored a career-high 18 points for the Vikings, who won their third straight game to start the season. They will face Providence, which defeated Rosary 57-43, in the championship game today.
"It helps that we have a lot of speed and quickness," said Gregory, who had 12 of her new personal high in the opening half, which saw Geneva leading 27-14 at the break. "As a whole, we recognize the fastbreak well."
It was Taylor Whitley who once again engineered the Vikings' attack.
The junior standout, overcoming foul problems, scored 11 points, grabbed 9 rebounds and handed out 5 assists to lead her team to its third consecutive one-sided win.
The Vikings' running game was in midseason form, and Wheaton Academy (2-2) never recovered against the Geneva onslaught.
"We're really finishing well on our fastbreaks," Whitley said. "We switched to a man-to-man defense at that point (the Warriors' lengthy drought). It enabled us to get some steals and force more turnovers."
Wheaton Academy scored 7 straight points in the opening three minutes of the contest to grab an early 7-2 lead, but the Vikings not only closed out the first quarter with a 10-0 run but also began the second with 11 more to take a 23-7 advantage.
Gregory had back-to-back field goals to polish off the 21-0 burst, and the Vikings' 13-point lead was methodically increased in the second half.
The Vikings did not score a point at the free-throw line, but it hardly mattered as seven players ultimately tallied.
The Warriors disrupted the Vikings' offensive sets with their 19 steals, but the Geneva depth and quickness remained steadfast throughout.
"I never felt like we got into a good flow (offensively)," said Geneva coach Gina Nolan. "(The Warriors) played very hard. That was a good test for us."
Lindsay Templeman scored in the final minute of the third to give Geneva a 43-25 lead, and the Vikings were on cruise control in the last.
For the game Wheaton Academy was limited to 11 field goals.
"Geneva is a good team, and we didn't play very well," said Wheaton Academy coach Beth Mitchell. "We didn't do a very good job in our half-court defense. We struggled offensively."
Alexa Sharkey and Jenn Lee led the Warriors with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Glenbrook South 45, St. Charles East 42: The Saints dropped a close one at Schaumburg's tournament Friday.
Lexi Baltes led the way with 13 points for the Saints.
Boys basketball
Aurora Central 58, Sandwich 37:ŒThe Chargers led throughout their victory over host Sandwich, going up 15-9 after one quarter and 27-17 at halftime on their way to the win.
Balanced ACC was led by Nick Czaja and Mark Adams with 14 points, with Mike Adams right behind with 13 points. Anthony Kelly scored eight..
Harlem 74, Kaneland 58:ŒDespite Kevin Green's 20-point effort, the Knights fell in Sycamore's Strombom Tournament Friday.
Dave Dudzinski also contributed 12 points and Nate Peters added 10 for Kaneland, which takes on Stillman Valley at 1 p.m. today.