Batavia 62, Geneva 61
Red eyes and tear-stained cheeks were everywhere at Geneva Friday night.
The Batavia girls basketball team earned their emotions after jumping up and down on-court together after defeating the Vikings 62-61 in a contest that got more and more taut as it progressed, and finished with a breathless final 90 seconds.
Geneva's emotions also spilled at the end of a contest that twisted and turned and only ended when a potential game-winning shot came off the back of the rim, perhaps a few inches from dropping through to change the outcome of the contest.
What the result means is that Batavia has its first conference championship since the 1997-98 season. The Western Sun crown also comes with the Bulldogs third win in as many tries against its closest and most hotly-contest rival.
"This feels amazing," Batavia's Kara Lydon said. "I've been wanting this since fifth grade. I remember losing to (Geneva) by 50. We've improved so much. I knew this was going to happen one day. We've been working our butts off since fifth grade. I honestly remember getting beat by 50."
There was never any chance of such a blowout on Friday. Batavia (21-4, 13-1) and Geneva (20-6, 12-2) each entered the winner take all matchup unwilling to give much ground to the other.
"I was really ready," Batavia's Kelsey Oswald said. "I really wanted to win this game and I'm in shock right now, actually."
In every sense, the teams had their stars come through as well as their supporting casts.
Geneva's Taylor Whitley scored a game-high 23 points and she was the player whose potential game-winning shot hit the back of the rim and bounced out at the buzzer.
"I feel like anyone on our team could have shot that," Whitley said. "I'm really confident in everyone. The ball just happened to be in my hands. It just didn't fall."
Lauren Wicinski had 13 points and 12 rebounds and continued to provide the inside presence she has done throughout the season for the Vikings.
Batavia's star scorer Natalie Tarter scored 21 points. Oswald not only scored 19 points, she hit 5-of-6 free throws in a 7-point fourth quarter.
"I had faith," Oswald said. "I had a feeling they would (foul me.) But I'm pretty confident in my shooting and so are the coaches. I was pretty ready to shoot those free throws."
Ironically, all six lead changes occurred in the first half. Batavia never trailed in the second half, though the game was tied twice. And the Bulldogs made their strongest push to put away the game midway through the fourth quarter, and carried a 59-51 lead into the final 90 seconds.
Geneva refused to fold and a Kat Yelle free throw cut the margin to the eventual final score with 17 seconds left.
Yelle missed the second free throw and Lydon rebounded and was fouled. Lydon missed both free throws, and the Vikings worked the ball to Whitley for a last-second attempt.
"It just kind of shows what kind of team we are," Whitley said. "We don't give up. We've been preparing for this all week. Now we're just going to have to wait until Tuesday."
For those who think these teams have seen enough of each other, there is still one more contest to be played -- Tuesday in the opening round of the Class 4A Bartlett regional.