Geneva erases 17-point deficit, wins title
Glenbard West was not about to let Geneva impose its will on the style of play Thursday night.
"We wanted to play our game," Glenbard West post Cayla Herbst said after her monster night of 15 points and 20 rebounds was spoiled by the Vikings' 47-40 overtime victory. "We knew that Geneva runs the floor. We left it all out on the court."
The Vikings needed a minor miracle to pull out their third consecutive title at the Naperville North/Benet Girls Basketball Holiday Tournament in Naperville.
Geneva (11-3) rallied from a 17-point deficit midway through the third quarter to seize its first lead on Ashley Santos' consecutive perimeter jump shots, the second from beyond the arc, late in the fourth quarter.
The Vikings did it with coach Gina Nolan back on the bench with assistant Tim Pease after she has missed most of the season recovering from cancer.
"Shots finally started to drop," said Nolan, adding she is feeling better and intends to return to teaching full-time after the break. "The kids, to their credit, kept their composure."
Glenbard West point guard Bridget Flanagan, who compromised the Vikings' passing lanes all night with 7 steals, sent the game into overtime with a 3-pointer with 19 seconds to play in regulation. It was the only tie of the game.
Sammy Scofield redeemed herself for a missed free throw late in regulation. The Geneva senior scored 6 of her 9 points in overtime, including a backbreaking 3-point play with 48.2 seconds left in the extra session.
"I think we were taken by surprise," said Scofield. "Once we got to overtime, we were like, 'Let's play. Let's get the game back.'"
The normally high-octane Geneva offense was slowed to a crawl by the Hilltoppers' aggressive zone defense.
The Vikings missed their first 8 shots, and Glenbard West (6-8) scored the first 11 points of the game behind the superior inside play of Herbst.
Rachel Hinchman had the lone Geneva field goal in the opening quarter, which ended with the Hilltoppers leading 12-2.
Geneva would tally twice early in the second, only to find another scoring rut; the Vikings' normal offensive fluidity was also hampered by standout guard Kat Yelle failing the score.
"We weren't moving the ball fast enough around the perimeter," said Yelle. "I just knew that in order for us to win that I would have to score."
Yelle did just that with her team trailing 31-14 midway through the third.
The Ohio recruit scored 6 points to close out the third strong, and the senior point guard then used her quickness off the dribble to score 7 more critical points in the fourth.
Yelle had a 5-point personal run as part of her game-high 16-point night in the fourth, and Santos' duplication on consecutive possessions gave Geneva a 37-35 lead with 2:49 remaining.
Flanagan prolonged the game with her game-tying 3-pointer.
"I probably wasn't supposed to take the shot," Flanagan said. "Coach (Mike Hofland) wanted me to drive and score (a 2-pointer) as fast as I could."
Santos finished with 12 points for Geneva; Abby Keirnan had 10 points and Flanagan added nine for Glenbard West.