Tougher schedule paying off for Geneva

When Geneva takes the court Monday night in the Class 4A Barrington supersectional, the Vikings will be playing in the same game as the only one it lost in last year’s 31-1 season.

Hersey defeated Geneva 60-54 in the Streamwood supersectional. That loss not only will serve as motivation for the Vikings (25-6) Monday night, it has all year.

And beefing up the nonconference schedule this year with the likes of Montini, Springfield and Fenwick is certainly paying dividends now.

“I think that (Hersey) loss has been motivation all year for many of our returning players,” Geneva coach Gina Nolan said. “We took the losses we had this year as part of a learning experience and knew it would prepare us for the postseason. The girls know wins and losses at this time of year are much more important.

“We would have traded the Hersey loss last year for another game in the regular season in a heartbeat. But regardless of last year’s loss, this group is very focused and motivated — especially the seniors. They don’t want their season to end. They want to do this for each other.”

Nolan didn’t hesitate in naming what will determine if her team beats Zion-Benton to end what has been an amazing journey this season at Illinois State University playing for a state championship.

Zion’s strengths mirror Geneva’s in a way. The Zee-Bees like to attack, forcing turnovers on defense and getting to the basket on offense. And as good as Geneva’s ball-handling is — there’s none better — the Vikings did struggle in the second half against Cary-Grove on their way to a rare 17-turnover night.

Zion also has something that can give the Vikings problem from time to time, a strong post player. Cary-Grove’s Claire Jakubicek scored 23 points against Geneva Thursday night. Zion offers Octavia Crump, whose 18 points led the Zee-Bees to an overtime win Thursday.

“They like to drive to the basket, penetrate the lane from the baseline or down the middle,” said Nolan, who has seen Zion play once in person and another time on tape. “They also like to push the ball up the floor.

“Two important keys for us will be rebounding and taking care of the ball. They have size inside so we really have to box out strong with a body. We also need to stop their dribble penetration and not let them get into the lane and create shots.”