Geneva runs by Batavia

Numbers don't lie in basketball and sometimes it is scary how certain statistics nearly match up perfectly as reflection of the final score.

The Geneva girls basketball team produced 10 steals that were converted into 21 points against host Batavia on Friday night, propelling the Vikings to a 72-49 Upstate Eight River Division victory.

The points from steals nearly matched the margin of victory, which gave Geneva (22-4, 12-0) an unblemished cruise through the River Division schedule.

"We talked about the unbeaten mark in conference before the game, but more as a pump up for Batavia in not wanting us to go 12-0, and because this is a tough atmosphere to play in," Geneva coach Sarah Meadows said.

"There are not many teams that can go undefeated in a conference, so this is a big accomplishment for the girls," Meadows added.

To make matters even more impressive, sophomore guard Michaela Loebel showed the Geneva program will be in good hands down the road as well, as she poured in a team-high 17 points while playing on top of a full-court press that stifled Batavia.

With Rachel Hinchman sinking all 10 of her free throw attempts to chip in with 16 points, and center Sami Pawlak adding 14 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, Geneva had enough to offset Batavia's Liza Fruendt, who tallied a game-high 21.

When three steals near the end of the first quarter resulted in 7 points for the Vikings, it was becoming apparent where the game was headed with Geneva up 23-13 after one quarter. Loebel had 8 of her points in the first quarter, all coming on steals or drives to the basket.

"Michaela just doesn't stop," Meadows said. "She works and works, and can slash to the basket or hit the jump shot. She has come a long way."

Loebel led all scorers with 12 points at the half, while Fruendt led Batavia with 9.

Loebel pointed to her team's trademark defensive pressure as the key that makes for an easier offensive night.

"Our team normally plays really good defense and we focus more on the defense," Loebel said. "But our team has to go in 100 percent on playing defense, because if just one or two work really hard, it will show (that it wasn't as effective).

"Batavia is a really good team, and Liza Fruendt is a really good player so we needed the defense tonight," she added.

After trailing 40-29 at halftime, Batavia (12-12, 5-6) needed a quick burst to open the second half. Fruendt tried her best to provide it by scoring on a driving layup and banging down a three-pointer on her way to 8 points in the third quarter, but they were the only points Batavia would score.

Geneva took advantage and rolled to a 59-37 lead going into the final quarter after Pawlak provided her most impressive spurt of the night in scoring the final six points of the third quarter. She scored on a driving layup, a pull-up jumper and another drive off a steal.

"We made some adjustments at halftime and we get a lot offense off that press, and that's what we are good at," Meadows said.

Geneva also camped out at the free-throw line, hitting 20 of 31 attempts, while Batavia made only 7 of 11 at the line.

"We have to make our free throws, because we are not very good at that sometimes," Meadows said. "It works to our advantage in going to the line often, if we can make them."

Batavia coach Kevin Jensen is hoping his team can get another shot at Geneva in the state tournament, as he knows the Vikings provide the measuring stick for other teams in the conference.

"It's hard to simulate their defense in practice or with any other opponent," Jensen said. "They are in a real good spot with their program right now, and they haven't missed a beat with Sarah coming in to coach or the (injured) Santos girls not being able to play.

"They have a good pattern of all of the players buying into the program," Jensen added. "The girls see what it takes to win, and they say, OK, so that's how we'll do it."

And Fruendt has seen the Geneva formula up close on the court.

"Their defense is set up to make you go faster than you want to go, and to be frantic and throw the ball around and make turnovers, so they can make easy layups," Fruendt said in summing up why Batavia had 24 turnovers in the game.

"Sometimes we had control and went at our own pace, but too often we let them control the pace," Fruendt added.

Geneva had the rebounding edge 32-25 behind Pawlak's 12 boards, while Fruendt, Katie Ryan and Tamar Norville each had four rebounds for the Bulldogs.

"We are trying to teach our girls to be good basketball players, and I think we've taken a few steps forward this year," Jensen said. "Hopefully, we can take a few more steps in the coming weeks."