Five things Vikings need to do to advance
Believe it or not, the doubters still remain.
Evidently 32-0 doesn't get you what it used to. It certainly doesn't please everyone, at least not when it comes to their expectations for the Geneva girls basketball team this weekend at state.
The consensus on press row at Monday's supersectional, at least those new to seeing the Vikings, seemed to be that their four months of fun is going to come an end tonight against nationally-ranked Young.
There's no doubt this is going to be Geneva's toughest test. There's a good reason Young is ranked as high as No. 4 in the country. When they break Geneva's press, they are going to be able to finish in transition. The Vikings shot 57 percent from the field in Monday's 54-49 win over New Trier - I'm guessing it will be awfully tough to match or even approach that number against Young.
But there's also plenty of reasons to like Geneva. I still don't think the Vikings have played their best game of the season. Junior Lauren Wicinski's dad Rob, otherwise known as the Geneva football coach, always said his goal was for his team to play their best game in their last game. The Vikings can do that this weekend.
At the very least Geneva has a better shot than some would think, especially if they can make these five things happen.
Get hot from 3: The Vikings didn't make a single 3 - going 0 of 6 - against New Trier.
Maybe it was just an off night, maybe they were getting so many back-door cuts for more high percentage shots, maybe there is an adjustment to the bigger background on a college court. Whatever it is, the Vikings will need a few of those to drop tonight.
Ride the emotion: Feed off the fans, enjoy every bit of your first trip to state. When things don't go your way, fight through it, use your fans to help get the momentum back on your side. I'm guessing Geneva will have the crowd support to make it feel like a home game.
Limit foul trouble: Geneva seems to play with fire at times in this area. Part of this comes with the territory - when you make a living off pressing teams and forcing turnovers, the fouls will add up.
But the Vikings need to avoid any bad fouls, a reach-in after Young grabs a defensive rebound, an over-the-back, a charge, etc. Keeping all their firepower on the court is a must to match Young's talent - even though the Vikings always seem to get a spark from reserves Sam Dudman and Sammy Scofield.
Take the freebies: Geneva won Monday despite a rare poor night (12 of 23) at the foul line. They'll have to get much closer to 70, 75 percent tonight, especially if they are trying to protect a late lead.
Peak together: As the competition has become more difficult the past two weeks, it has been impressive how the Vikings have elevated their game.
But they still haven't had all five starters play their best the same night, which is a sign of what great chemistry they have. Somebody is always picking someone else up. Kat Yelle was held to 3 points Monday, but Emily Hinchman and Lauren Wicinski combined for 27. The previous game, Hinchman and Wicinski had 11 and Yelle hit for 25.
Get everyone hot at the same time, with Kelsey Augustine doing her thing blocking shots, stealing the ball and running the high-low, and the Vikings will be playing for a state championship Saturday night.
jlemon@dailyherald.com