Geneva rallies by Morgan Park

Sami Pawlak minced no words after personifying the unyielding style of play between host Geneva and Morgan Park Tuesday night.

“It was as physical as it looked out there,” the Vikings’ junior forward said.

With bodies crashing left and right and the two teams offering little respite in the paint, the Vikings overcame an 8-point third-quarter deficit to knock off the Public League power 65-60 in second-round action of the Geneva Thanksgiving Tournament.

The Geneva girls basketball squad (2-0) will face Oswego on Friday afternoon when the tournament resumes, and defending Class 3A state champion Montini looms as the Vikings’ Saturday opponent.

Pawlak had 14 points and 14 rebounds to spearhead the Vikings’ second-half comeback over the Mustangs (2-1), who blitzed Geneva with a 23-point second quarter to take a 39-33 lead into the break.

“We really wanted to win this game,” said Pawlak, whose driving score with 2:47 to play extended the Vikings’ lead to 57-53. “This was a big game for us.”

“Pawlak played awesome,” said Geneva coach Sarah Meadows. “She had a great game. I thought she became more aggressive as the game went along.”

Ashley Santos’ night began auspiciously enough after making consecutive 3-point field goals.

But the Vikings’ Marquette-bound star sat for most of the first half after picking up three fouls in less than five minutes of playing time bridging the first two quarters.

“‘Oh, great,’” Santos said of her reaction to her third foul two-plus minutes into the second quarter on a block attempt. “‘It’s going to be one of those games.’ I hate being on the bench.”

With Santos on the pines the Mustangs took advantage behind splendid off-guard Kendyl Nunn and freshman post Marsha Howard.

Morgan Park, leading 16-15 after the first quarter, took its largest lead of the game when Nunn, who led all scorers with 22 points, drained a 3-pointer to give the Mustangs a 34-25 lead.

Howard augmented Nunn with a trio of inside scores as part of her 12-point night for Morgan Park.

“We tried to front the post in the first half,” Meadows said. “We did a much better job of it in the second half.”

Pawlak had a critical 3-point play to help Geneva stay within 6 points at halftime, and Santos’ third 3-pointer of the night on the opening third-quarter possession halved the Vikings’ deficit.

The remainder of the game was Geneva imposing its defensive will on Morgan Park as the Vikings’ pressing, trapping and opportunistic defense limited the Mustangs to 21 second-half points.

Nunn and fellow senior starter Gabrielle Richmond left the game with nagging injuries incurred during the play, and Geneva senior Rachel Hinchman (14 points) had an 8-point personal run for the team to help Geneva within 48-47 after three.

Santos’ silky jumper from the key on the first field-goal attempt of the fourth quarter gave Geneva its first lead since the opening quarter; the senior led Geneva with 20 points.

“You had to fight for every possession,” Santos said.

Nunn brought Morgan Park to within 60-58 with 1:26 to play, but Santos and Pawlak closed out the game at the free-throw line.

“They were a little out of sync,” Morgan Park coach Thomas Johnson said of his squad while Nunn and Richmond were temporarily sidelined. “In the fourth quarter we had three freshmen on the court. I’m not looking for any excuses. The better team won tonight.”