Girls basketball: Popp’s late jumper pushes Geneva past Kaneland

Geneva only made one field goal in the fourth quarter, but it was a big one.

After Kaneland erased a 10-point deficit in the final seven minutes, the Vikings had an inbounds play with 4.8 seconds to go. Linnea Popp found herself open, Kendall Parsons passed it to her, and Popp hit a short jumper with two seconds to play to give Geneva a 38-36 win over the Knights in their Class 3A Dixon Regional semifinal Monday at Lancaster Gym.

Geneva (15-14) advances to play host Dixon, a 55-10 winner over Rockford East in the regional semifinals.

“No, that’s not how we drew it up,” Popp said. “I just saw I was open and got the ball. I saw (the defender) closing in, so it was a pump fake, and I went up with it. I’d missed a 3 earlier, so obviously I wanted it back.”

The play was designed to go to Keria McCann, who had five 3s in the first three quarters to help Geneva build the lead. But that’s not how it worked out.

“It was a double screen for me to come out with the shot, but they defended it really well, and Popp got the ball, made a great shot fake, and it was a great finish by her,” McCann said.

Kaneland (19-13) trailed 34-24 going into the fourth quarter, but 3-pointers by Dani Ridolfi and Sophia Rosati cut the deficit to 34-30 with 5:42 to play. Ridolfi and Kyra Lilly scored to get within 36-34 with 3:57 to go, then Amani Weeks finished off the comeback with a drive to the basket for a layup with 1:38 remaining to tie it 36-all.

Popp missed a 3 with one minute to go, then Kaneland tried to play for the last shot. But the Knights had a wide-open look at a 3, and it rimmed out. Geneva got the rebound and called timeout with nine seconds left.

“We were looking for the last shot, and it was one of those times where one of our best 3-point shooters had an open look,” Kaneland coach Brian Claesson said. “If it goes in, we’re celebrating. It just didn’t go in, and they made a play down the stretch.”

Geneva missed its first shot for the win, but the rebound eventually ended up in the hands of Nora Hutton. There was some confusion, as Claesson tried to call timeout when the rebound first hit Rudolfi’s hands, but after the officials stopped the game, they determined Kaneland didn’t have possession to be able to call a timeout, and it was Vikings ball with 4.8 seconds to go.

Popp then took the pass and hit the game-winner.

“That was tough. Keira’s experience is super crucial for us,” Popp said. “We’re missing two of our starters, so we had people step up in ways that aren’t explainable. It was tough to keep our poise there, because you could kind of feel the momentum shifting.

“It was really tough to keep going, but we did, and we pulled it out.”

It was a wild finish to a low-scoring game. McCann hit four 3s in the first half to counteract Kaneland’s balanced scoring and give Geneva a 20-16 halftime lead. The Knights took a 21-20 lead with a Lilly 3 and a Grace Brunscheen putback to open the second half, but Hatton’s post basket ignited a 14-1 Vikings run to make it 34-22 with 1:48 left in the third.

“It was definitely less stressful playing with the lead, because we had that little bit of a cushion,” McCann said. “It definitely helped relieve the stress a little bit as the game went on.

“Sometimes we like to play too fast, and the focus tonight was really to play our offense and not let them speed us up. We were patient, and I think we got some really good looks throughout the game.”

McCann had 18 points, four rebounds, three steals and two assists, and Popp scored 11 points for Geneva. Adelyn Estabrook had four points, four rebounds and three steals, and Hatton added three points, seven rebounds, four steals and two assists.

Brunscheen finished with eight points, seven rebounds, three steals, three blocks and two assists, and Lilly had eight points, four rebounds and two assists for Kaneland. Rosati added seven points and eight rebounds. Ridolfi also scored seven points, and Meeks chipped in six points and five rebounds.

“The last three weeks we’ve had so many injuries and sicknesses and things that didn’t really go our way. I think even this game just kind of showed what type of character this team has,” Claesson said. “Even though we were down 10, you could see the energy of the girls, ‘Hey, this isn’t over.’ We hit a couple of big 3s in the fourth quarter to kind of give us that energy.

“Unfortunately, they made the last basket.”