Defending champs await Geneva in state semifinals

Regardless of what transpires this weekend, the Geneva girls basketball team has scripted a new chapter in the Vikings' century-plus athletic history.

"The boys team made it in 1908 and 1963, but that was the Elite Eight," Geneva coach Gina Nolan said. "This is the first team to ever make it to the Final Four."

In one of the most stacked state-final fields in recent memory, Geneva continues its quest for a perfect season.

The Vikings are two victories away from the grand prize whose denouement plays out this weekend at Redbird Arena on the campus of Illinois State University in Normal.

Geneva has an imposing road to the Class 4A girls state basketball championship: defending champion Whitney Young, the pride of the rugged Chicago Public League, is the first roadblock in the Vikings' path.

Should Geneva (32-0) tame the nationally-ranked Dolphins (32-1), an equally stern test lurks in the championship shadows: Bolingbrook (23-4), making its fifth consecutive state appearance, or once-beaten Wheeling (32-1).

The IHSA could not have dreamed of a more compelling script for its four finalists in the largest of classes.

The four teams are an astonishing 108-1 against Illinois schools, and the lone blemish for Wheeling was administered by Young.

"It seems like it's a great field," Nolan said.

The Geneva-Young second semifinal (8:15 p.m., Ch. 50) has all the hallmarks of a classic encounter: guard-oriented teams with very similar styles.

"They're very quick, but so are we," Nolan said.

"It will be interesting to see two pressing teams play each other," Batavia coach Tim DeBruycker said. "(The Dolphins) are incredibly fast. (Geneva feels) like they can beat anybody, and that's a huge factor right now. I think who's going to handle the ball well and not going to get shaken by the other team is going to be the difference."

The game features two of the finest guards in the state in four-year Geneva starter Taylor Whitley and Young sophomore extraordinaire Chanise Jenkins.

Geneva would be facing Marian Catholic if it were not for Jenkins' heroics last Monday night.

Jenkins' 25-footer at the buzzer of double overtime lifted the Dolphins to a 78-76 victory.

The Vikings, meanwhile, have only had three teams - DeKalb, Elk Grove and New Trier - come within single digits in their 32 consecutive victories, and their average margin of victory is almost 28 points per game.

Geneva features a three-guard attack - Whitley, Emily Hinchman and Kat Yelle - augmented by twin junior posts Kelsey Augustine and Lauren Wicinski.

The Vikings' players know they will have to be at their best to better Young, ranked fourth in the nation by two separate polls.

"We're not going to back down to anyone," Whitley said. "We're athletic enough to compete against anyone."

Nolan said the genesis of the Vikings' perfect season was hatched in a critical summer-league game.

"We beat Bolingbrook," Nolan said. "There was a feeling, 'We can play with these guys.'"

"We worked really hard in the summer and off-season to get where we are right now," Whitley said.

Hinchman said the Vikings' development was predicated on their play against Batavia, which defeated Geneva three times last season.

Geneva did, however, turn back its archrivals in the 2008 postseason, laying the groundwork for its undefeated campaign this season.

"We struggled against them last year," Hinchman said.

As the postseason began, Geneva had to answer the inevitable critics who questioned their opponents' collective abilities.

In its first true late-game test of the season, Geneva scored the final 9 points to defeat Elk Grove in the Addison Trail sectional semifinals.

"We knew we had to play well in a pressure situation," Hinchman said. "We wanted to show everyone we could do it. After the Elk Grove game, we knew the games were going to get harder and harder."

The Vikings dominated Lake Park in the sectional final, and New Trier was equally baffled by their pressure defense.

Young, meanwhile, has actually appeared mortal after vanquishing Lyons Township by more than 50 points in its regional final.

Jenkins leads Young with a 16 points-per-game average, but the Dolphins have a balanced attack behind post Porsha Harris, who averages 12 points and 13 rebounds per game, as well as dangerous off-guard Ashlee Anderson (12 ppg).

Whitley anchors the Vikings' high-octane offense at 20 points per contest, while Hinchman and Yelle, who has been playing her best ball in the playoffs, check in at slightly under 10 point per game.

Nolan sees three critical avenues to stem the Dolphins' fearsome attack.

"We'll definitely need to stop their dribble penetration, check the outside shooters and box out," Nolan said.

In no other sport does the spotlight shine as brightly as state basketball with its peerless pantheon of storied teams and individuals, and Whitley is aware of its impact.

"I'm really excited," the Indiana State recruit said. "We're representing our community, our school and our classmates."

In the first semifinal, Bolingbrook and its prized freshman Morgan Tuck, who is already eliciting comparisons to former Naperville Central immortal Candice Parker, takes on Wheeling and first team all-state forward Ashley Wilson.