Geneva handles Proviso East

It's not every day that Geneva sees a team that likes to run as much as it does, but the Vikings found one Friday night in the semifinals of the Montini Christmas Tournament.

Proviso East brought a 13-game winning streak and an up-tempo attack into the matchup, yet it was Geneva with even more firepower.

Madison Mallory scored 20 points, Margaret Whitley hit for 18 and Maddy Yelle scored 15, leading the Vikings to a 71-61 victory and a spot in Saturday night's championship game against host Montini.

It was hard to keep up with the end-to-end action at times, both teams pushing the ball at every opportunity.

"It was fast-paced," Yelle said. "You think you'd be back on defense but there would be one girl already down there and you'd have to sprint back. There was a point in the third quarter when both teams were tired and that's when we stepped up and got back on defense and stopped the fastbreaks."

Yelle is Geneva's defensive stopper. She had her hands full with Proviso East junior Keimari Rimmer, who scored 18 of her game-high 29 points in the first half while also grabbing 13 rebounds, pocketing 3 steals and blocking 2 shots.

"She was fast, she was strong, she could make anything and I honestly was struggling in the first half," said Yelle, who slowed Rimmer down in the second half by fronting her. "I'm not going to lie. She was everywhere. I thought I was playing good, solid defense but she could still make it. I was getting frustrated."

Rimmer scored Proviso East's first four points, then Daliyah Brown's 3-point play gave the Pirates a 7-2 lead and forced a quick timeout by Vikings coach Sarah Meadows.

Geneva (13-0) answered with an 8-2 run - started by Mallory's 3-point shot and finished by Yelle's 5 points.

Mallory, who began high school at Montini before transferring to Geneva last year, scored 13 points in the first half and made 8 of 9 free throws in the game.

"I like to do whatever I can to help the team and today it was free throws," Mallory said. "I'll be honest, we haven't played at that tempo in a long time. To get back there and to know we still have that intensity is nice to see because during the playoffs we're definitely going to need to pull it out again."

The Vikings never trailed again after Yelle's putback made it 10-9. Yelle also scored the final basket of the opening quarter on a good look from Stephanie Hart making it 18-13, and Lindsay Blackmore came off the bench for 9 first-half points as Geneva's lead grew to 38-30 at halftime.

Brie Borkowicz grabbed an offensive rebound and made a quick pass across the lane to Mallory during a 7-0 surge that helped Geneva extend the margin.

Proviso East (15-2), whose only other loss is to Nazareth, fell behind 55-43 late in the third quarter. Whitley made three 3-point shots in the third quarter, which Geneva needed with both Mallory and Hart going to the bench in foul trouble.

The Pirates got as close as 55-50 on Kyla Richardson's steal and layup to start the fourth quarter. Meadows put Mallory back in with four fouls, and she immediately sank a corner 3-pointer, and played the final seven minutes without fouling out.

Geneva sank 22 of 28 free throws, including 18 of its first 19, while the Pirates struggled at 7 for 20.

"It was a good game, they have a great team," Rimmer said. "I'm glad we didn't lose by a lot, we pushed ourselves. We knew they could shoot and they are a very fast team. We didn't get back enough."

Blackmore added 9 points and Hart scored 8 while Geneva battled to a 38-38 draw on the boards. Mallory led with 9 rebounds, Whitley hustled for 8 and Blackmore pulled down 7. Against Proviso East's constant pressure, the Vikings only turned the ball over 9 times.

"We wanted to be tough in everything we did and I think our kids bought into that," Meadows said. "They (Proviso East) are a physical team, they are a very good team and we knew that coming in. I thought our kids handled themselves composure-wise physically and mentally."

Rebounding figures to be key again Saturday against Montini's size. Win or lose Geneva has secured its best finish at this tournament, but the Vikings are looking forward to a rematch with a Broncos team that beat them 65-60 in last year's semifinals.

Geneva and Montini (17-1) are the top two ranked teams in the Daily Herald Top 20.

"It's always fun playing Montini, we know a lot of girls, especially me but all the girls from playing AAU," Mallory said. "It's a fun game but it's always intense because we both really want to win. I think they are trying to prove something but we are trying to prove something too."