Geneva hit the court in high gear Friday night during its DuKane Conference game against rival Batavia and never down shifted.

The Vikings grabbed the opening tip, scored the first basket and never looked back in a 45-31 victory.

“We had a lot of energy. I think sometimes we have up and downs and we made it a plan from the start tonight that we wanted to keep the energy up the whole way through,” said Geneva senior Keira McCann, who scored 12 points. “And a lot of kids stepped up big time tonight.”

Playing Batavia added incentive according to Vikings coach Sarah Meadows.

“This is a big rivalry. It always is s both sides get up for this game,” Meadows said. “So you’re going to get the best.”

Geneva (11-13, 6-5) dominated on defense. The Vikings out-rebounded the host Bulldogs 33-18 and gave up only seven baskets.

“I think we were tough,” Meadows said. “We were aggressive from the tip. And I feel like when we’re tough, physical and we run, we’re a pretty good team.”

Batavia (8-18, 5-6) scored the first point of the game a minute into the contest on a Eva Holzl free throw. The senior scored a team-high nine points.

Emma Peterson responded for the Vikings with a putback after grabbing the first of 10 rebounds. Peterson finished the night with 12 points. The bucket started a 21-6 run that ended with a first quarter lead of 21-7.

Both teams endured a lackluster second half. The Vikings only scored five points but yielded four to extend their lead to 26-11 at halftime.

“Not a whole lot of positive things to say. There wasn’t a whole lot of fight early. We didn’t play with a whole lot of confidence,” said Batavia coach Kevin Jensen. “We’re living in a very inconsistent world right now.”

Geneva continued to hold the upper hand in the third quarter to push its lead to 37-18.

Halfway through the period, McCann made the most of a missed shot. After grabbing her own rebound, the senior scored after throwing ball underhanded at the net. In addition, the senior was fouled on the shot and converted the free throw.

“It felt good,” McCann said about the 3-point play. “I knew I had the height advantage and so I thought I might as well throw it up there.”

Vikings freshman Adelyn Estabrook finished the night with 8 points including two 3-pointers.

“I think our little freshman played really well ,” Meadows said.

Jensen sees good things ahead for Bulldogs freshman Sindee Justice.

“She’s a very good player. She logs a decent amount of minutes for us,” Jensen said. “She’s going to be somebody special to keep an eye on.”

https://www.dailyherald.com/20260130/girls-basketball/girls-basketball-geneva-races-to-early-lead-at-batavia-doesnt-let-up/