Blue Streaks rebound in 52-48 win
You’ll have to forget everything you saw in the first half to figure out how Madison (3-0, 1-0 CVC) defeated Geneva (2-1, 0-1 CVC), 52-48, on Tuesday. Rebounding, second effort shots, fluid ball movement and free throws did not seem to happen for the Blue Streaks, as they went 0-for-6 at the line and trailed the Eagles by 15.
“We started a little flat. We went into the locker room at halftime and were like, ‘Hey, we just gotta keep fundamentally doing the little things right, like getting after it, setting up an offense and actually executing it’. I always preach the words mental toughness and grit. Trying to pump them up at halftime helped. We’ve come back from an 11 point deficit before… that third quarter we came out firing.”
Heather Reho, Madison Girls Basketball Coach
That the Blue Streaks did, unleashing a 16-0 run to start the second half. Junior guard Zoey Deliganis scored all 11 of her points in the final two frames.
Geneva jumped out to the early lead thanks to some swift rebounding by their guards and a three-point outburst from senior forward Brooke Richmond. Fifteen of her team-high 18 points came in the first half, all on three pointers. Something Madison’s Coach Reho credits being taken away with a change in their defensive strategy. Despite the loss, this is something the Eagles are planning to build on.
“It’s always a good battle. We love to play Madison. It gets the girls excited. It’s been a rival since (before) I was in school. We always say, “Whoever wins the third quarter, wins the game’. Sadly, I think Madison had that fire under them and (they’ve) been in this situation before. They’ve had some close games. I think this is a great learning experience for us, as a team, moving forward. We’ve just gotta learn from it and gotta do better.”
Emily (Harriman) Vossers, Geneva Girls Basketball Coach
Delaney Marrison (12) provided 14 points to the Eagles effort, including 4-of-5 at the free throw line in the fourth quarter.
Senior Claire Wakim finished with a game-high 26 points, while almost single-handedly keeping Madison in contention with 17 of the team’s 19 first-half points. Senior Alyssa Snider also added nine points.
Up next: Geneva visits Edgewood on Friday, Dec. 8th, while Madison heads to Ashtabula to take on the Lakeside Dragons that same night.
**Congratulations to Harriman who was also publicly trying on her new last name for the first time. The former Geneva standout guard, in her first years as head coach, wed Kyle Vossers on December 2nd. Talk about a big start to the season!
