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Geneva edges Lake Park on Blackmore's clutch free throws

Kate Palmer had perhaps the game of her life Wednesday night for the two-time defending Class 4A girls basketball state champions.

The Geneva sophomore, coming off the bench for the Vikings, scored 17 invaluable points against Lake Park in a critical DuKane Conference matchup.

But it was Lindsay Blackmore who sealed the deal for Geneva. Blackmore, who earlier this season made three winning free throws with .8 seconds left against Batavia, drained a pair of free throws with 1.4 seconds remaining.

Lake Park missed a layup at the buzzer as the Vikings escaped with a 59-57 victory.

Geneva is 17-11 overall on the season after its senior night victory, improving to 9-4 in the inaugural season in the DuKane. The two Wheaton high schools have three losses in the league.

"(Palmer) has been spending some time in the gym,' Geneva coach Sarah Meadows said. "It has been paying off."

"This game definitely felt good," Palmer said. "I wanted to help the team get a win. We have been on that losing streak."

The Vikings had to overcome one of the better female basketball players in the western suburbs in the Lancers' do-it-all junior Darrione Rogers.

"How many did she end up with?" Meadows asked. "I know she had 20 (points) at halftime. (Rogers) is fun to watch. She is a great basketball player."

"She was definitely our main focus," Palmer said of Rogers.

Rogers is on the cusp of eclipsing all former Lake Park girls who have played in the program.

With her game-high 32 points on Wednesday, Rogers is 13 points away from the all-time season-high total for the Lancers.

Ironically, Sam Arnold played her final game for the Lancers against Geneva in the 2009 Class 4A sectional final.

Arnold, who later starred at Michigan, scored 714 points for the Lancers her junior year.

"It's unbelievable," Rogers said of her looming accomplishment. "I owe it all to my coaches and teammates."

Rogers scored the last of her field goals with 67 seconds remaining to forge the final tie.

But Blackmore was hacked with less than two seconds to go.

"It's what you work for," Blackmore said of her winning free throws. "It feels good to get back on track for the postseason."

"It hurts, but we gave it all we had," the Lancers' Rogers said.

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