Batavia notches statement win

Like a track and field high jumper trying to clear a bar that keeps getting higher, Batavia has spend a sequence of Friday's facing tougher and tougher Western Sun Conference opponents.

First came Rochelle. Next was Glenbard South, followed by Geneva.

Like a successful high jumper, Batavia has found ways to clear each of these challenges.

On Friday, Bulldogs won their eighth game without loss this season by stopping undefeated Geneva 59-50 in Batavia.

The loss ends a four-game Geneva winning streak in this long-time rivalry, which explains why Kara Lydon and Sara Fruendt met in a victorious lifting embrace at midcourt when the final buzzer sounded.

"We've lost to them so many times, I can't remember," Lydon said. "Every time we beat Geneva, it's a great game and we get so pumped over it."

Lydon scored all 7 of her points in the third quarter as the Bulldogs opened a consistent lead and forced the Vikings (9-1, 4-1) to play from behind.

"We knew we had to come out with a lot of energy in the second half," Lydon said. "They're a really tough team. We were making our shots and did a really great job in the second half."

Lydon suffered through foul trouble in the first half and played most of the third quarter with three fouls. But she found openings to score.

"I felt comfortable and my shot was on tonight," Lydon said.

Tracy Ferguson took over in the fourth quarter. She scored all 7 of her points in that quarter. A 12-point run proved crucial as the Bulldogs (8-0, 5-0) put significant space between themselves and the Vikings.

"We haven't beaten Geneva in the past two years and it feels amazing," Ferguson said. "Right now, we feel like we could do anything."

Ferguson added 8 rebounds and disrupted Geneva's offense in her role under the basket in Batavia's 2-3 zone.

"I think when we finally came out and played, we intimidated them," Ferguson said. "We're happy about it. We're 8-0 and we're just going to keep going."

Batavia's Natalie Tarter led all scorers with 14 points. The matchup between the junior and Geneva's high scoring junior Taylor Whitley never fully emerged, though Whitley scored 11 points in the loss.

"I don't think we contested enough of their jump shots," Geneva coach Gina Nolan said. "But even with all of those things, and the fact that we didn't execute so well, we still had our chances."

Lindsay Templeman was consistent offensively for Geneva. She led her team in scoring with 13 points and her 3-pointer with 5:46 left gave the Vikings a 45-44 lead.

But from that Templeman long-range shot, Geneva went 5 minutes without scoring until Lauren Wicinski scored. Wicinski scored 10 points for the Vikings.

"I like the things we can do on the floor," Nolan said. "We have to come ready to play."