The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Geneva’s defense too much for Perry
The defensive game plan for the Geneva girls basketball team against visiting Perry on Jan. 13 was simple.
The game plan read, “As soon as the Pirates step off the bus, jump on them, get in their face and make life miserable for them.”
OK, that’s an exaggeration — except for the “make life miserable for them” part.
Led by Emily Harriman’s smothering defense on Claire Dolan, Geneva’s defense dominated in a 41-29 win over Perry. The result knocked the Pirates (111, 6-1) from the ranks of the unbeaten and put the Eagles (11-1, 6-0) ahead the pack in the CVC Chagrin Division.
Thanks in part to their relentless defensive effort, the Eagles held the Pirates to 29 percent shooting (12-for-41), well below their season average of 41 percent.
Geneva also held Perry 23 points shy of their 52.5 pointsper-game scoring average.
“It’s in these types of games where defense needs to be solid,” Geneva coach Nancy Barbo said. “This is what it means, ‘Defense wins championships’ That’s exactly what I said at halftime.”
“I’m really happy with our effort on that end.”
Couple that with a strong performance in the paint by senior Hailey Peoples-O’Neil (17 points, seven rebounds, four steals), and the Eagles had the perfect recipe to knock off the reigning CVC Chagrin champions.
“Oh, we’re always talking, ‘Perry’s coming up, Perry’s coming up,’ ” Harriman said, adding her team had the Pirates circled on the schedule. “But we know it’s one at a time. That’s what coach always tells us.”
Perry led only once, 2-0, on an Emily Holroyd bucket to start the game. But Geneva scored the next seven points and never let Perry get closer than three points the rest of the game.
There were two critical points in the second half. A 5-2 run to start the third quarter allowed Geneva to stretch its lead to double digits at 23-12. Then a 6-0 run to start the fourth quarter pretty much took all hope from the Pirates.
In between, Perry was whistled for an oncourt technical foul that erased a possible scoring opportunity in a 2417 game and sent Geneva to the free throw line, where freshman Abby Carter netted both charity tosses.
Perry trailed by double figures for all but 52 seconds of the fourth quarter.
“Defense is Geneva’s specialty,” Perry coach Brindi Kandel said. “They’re probably one of the best defensive teams we play. But we got in our own heads, too. I think the game sped up in our minds and we weren’t able to slow it down.”
Slowing down PeoplesO’Neil was a problem, too. The 5-foot-11 athletic forward, who missed much of last season with a torn ACL, had a game-high 17 points. She scored three buckets in the pull-away fourth quarter, two on putbacks and one on a rebound and coast-to-coast layup.
“Going into the game, we said what would decide the game is keeping them off the boards, and we didn’t do that,” Kandel said of her team, which was outrebounded, 35-27. “She’s a great player. I’m glad she’s a senior.”
Carter had 10 points, six rebounds and four assists.
While Harriman had only five points, it was her defense on Dolan that stood out the most.
Dolan, averaging 14 points per game, was held scoreless on three longrange attempts.
“When she gets something in her head she wants to accomplish, she’s pretty good at accomplishing it,” said Barbo of Harriman’s defensive mindset.
Said Harriman, “(Dolan) is a great player. I knew coming in I had to hold her down. Thankfully it happened . ... It was a team effort.”
Makenzie Hacking scored a team-leading 10 points, while freshman Elle Infalvi had eight. Freshman Madyson Hacking had six points and a team-high seven rebounds.
“I don’t think we were in an offensive rhythm all night,” Kandel said. “We need to do a better job of setting screens and getting open. We have other shooters (besides Dolan). They have to step up and hit those shots.”
Perry hosts Cornerstone Christian on Jan. 17.
“This is one game out of 22,” Kandel said. “Our goal wasn’t to beat Geneva. It was to get better every day. Our kids buy into that. We’ll be better for having gone through this today.”
For Geneva, which plays Harvey on Jan. 17, the road is long, including a second go-around with the CVC, two remaining games against Chagrin Falls and a rematch with the Pirates at Perry on Feb. 10.
“They’re pretty driven. These seniors know. They have a sense of urgency,” Barbo said. “This is it. Every game is ‘the last this’ or ‘the last that.’ They want to capture a conference championship before they go out.”
With defense they way they played it on Jan. 13, the Eagles are certainly within reach of that goal.