Girls basketball: Silkaitis leads York’s balanced effort to take down Geneva in regional semifinal

York’s Olivia Silkaitis knew that if she wanted to extend her junior season by at least one more game, her team would need to stick to what it does best.

Playing as a team.

“That’s when we play our best,” Silkaitis said. “When everyone’s able to shoot, we’re able to score more. Just making good moves in the post and sharing the ball was the key to winning the game.”

And against Geneva, that team effort was put on full display

Silkaitis led the balanced offensive charge with 16 points to help the seventh-seeded Dukes take down the No. 10 Vikings 53-29 in a Class 4A Geneva regional semifinal.

The Dukes (14-15) will face second-seeded Batavia (22-9) in the regional finals at 7 p.m. Thursday. The Bulldogs defeated Glenbard North 55-27 in Tuesday’s first semifinal.

“I thought we did a great job out there,” Dukes coach Brandon Collings said. “Our energy was phenomenal, and we were ready to play. We got some early buckets, got a little lead in the beginning. And we moved the ball around well.”

After a slow start from the floor in the game, Silkaitis found her grove early in the second quarter, dropping seven points to help the Dukes take a 24-11 lead into halftime. The senior also had seven points in the fourth quarter.

Silkaitis wasn’t the only one finding the basket for the Dukes on the night, as senior Anna Filosa (11 points) and junior Kayla Callahan (10 points) each hit key 3-pointers in the third quarter to open up the lead by as much as 19 points.

“Knowing each other’s strengths is just a key thing for us,” Silkaitis said. “Kayla is an amazing shooter on the kick-out 3, and Anna’s just great all around. She’s able to hit the 3-pointer and then penetrate inside and hit the layups as well.”

The team effort was also apparent on the defensive side of the ball as well. The Dukes recorded 12 steals in the game, with junior Ellie Kehoe leading the charge in the category with four swipes.

“Ellie was unbelievable at the top of our press,” Collings said. “Her length and the amount of deflections she can get it makes it huge for us. I’m really proud of our defensive effort. We’ll take only giving up 29 points.”

The loss in the regional semifinals marks the first time that Geneva (8-21) failed to win a regional title since the 2007-08 season. Senior Bridget Hecker led the team with 11 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double while senior Keira McCann added eight points as the only other Vikings' player with multiple makes from the floor.

Vikings coach Sarah Meadows said that while the team didn’t have a lot of wins on the season, the energy her players bought day-in and day-out was worth more than their record.

“We have really great kids who work hard and make practice every day enjoyable,” Meadows said. “ It’s a little different for me, I’m not used to being on this side. But with the kids we have that make my job enjoyable, it’s all good.”