Bridget Hecker scores 21, Geneva bests Lake Park 51-40

ROSELLE – Geneva secured its first conference win of the season behind 21 points from forward Bridget Hecker in a 51-40 victory over Lake Park on Wednesday in Roselle.

“Bridget has played really well for us to start this year,” said Geneva coach Sarah Meadows. “If she can get some quick baskets early, then that just builds her confidence, and that’s good for us.”

Hecker did just that against the Lancers, as she set the tone with an eight-point first quarter to help build a 21-8 lead that the Vikings never relinquished.

“I trust my teammates to put me in a good position,” said the Vikings’ rising star.

Meadows credited her team’s fast start as being the difference in the game.

“We came out of the gates really well, and our pressure hurt them in that first quarter,” said Meadows. “They beat us in quarters two and three … we’re trying to play smaller games within a game, so we’re trying to watch those quarter scores and build on that.”

One of the keys to the game was the debut of a new diamond press defense by Geneva that managed to give the Lancers fits early on.

“We’ve been working on it all season, and I feel like it went really well,” said Hecker.

Meadows mentioned a desire to put pressure on their guards.

“We thought we could get turnovers,” added the Geneva coach.

“I think it’s one of those things that we need to continue to work and get better at,” said Lake Park coach Bob Reibel, reflecting on how his team handled this aggressive approach by the Vikings. “We’ve been pressured, and we’ve seen it a lot. We’re just struggling to execute … it’s just the little things.”

The Lancers hung tight with the Vikings once they settled in. Lake Park guard Maggie Frank found success from behind the arc, draining five 3-pointers on her way to a 19-point evening.

“Maggie can shoot the ball, no doubt,” said Reibel.

Allison Gogola and Caitlyn Mikes also contributed from long range. Combined, the Lancers scored 27 of their 40 points via the 3-point shot.

“We’ve got a lot of great shooters on this team,” said Reibel. “We missed a lot of ones that I’m confident we’ll make.”

Frank put a scare into the Geneva faithful with a swift five-point outburst midway through the fourth quarter.

She struck from deep to briefly bring what was once a double-digit lead down to five points with 4:30 to play in regulation.

However, Hecker struck right back in the paint with a backbreaking lay-in that seemed to take the wind out of the Lancers’ sails.

“She does what she does well,” said Reibel about the Geneva senior. “She’s physical, she’s aggressive, she’s good at getting to her left hand. She just came out and got to what she wanted to do.”

The Lancers (4-2, 0-2) will face off with Willowbrook on Thursday before they continue the search for their first DuKane Conference win of the young season when they visit St. Charles East this Friday.

“We need to execute better. That’s on me, that’s on our coaches, as well as our players,” said Reibel. “We need to make sure that we’re preparing them and have them executing at a level that we want.”

As for Geneva (2-6, 1-1), they plan to keep the battle going as they head home for a matchup against Glenbard North.

“Our conference is really strong, but I also feel like our conference is known for beating each other,” said Meadows. “Every night is a battle, and every game is winnable. So our kids have to trust that and believe that.”

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