KARL PEARSON
SAYBROOK TOWNSHIP — Beware of the team with a lot of pent-up frustration.
The Lakeside girls basketball team had the misfortune of encountering just such a squad Saturday afternoon when it hosted a Geneva team smarting from a two-game losing streak. The Eagles took no prisoners in the Premier Athletic Conference game, running away to a 67-19 victory at Lakeside Gymnasium.
Not only did Geneva (9-3, 7-1) end its drought, but it got an extra present a little later when news became available of Madison’s 59-51 win over Chardon. That turn of events put the Eagles back in sole possession of first place in the PAC.
The Eagles actually had their game in hand after the first quarter when they ran away to a 20-5 lead. But they kept up their defensive pressure for the remainder of the game, following up by allowing just five points in the second and third quarters as well and finishing with a four-point yield despite playing all 12 girls who were on the bench extensively.
Geneva coach Nancy Barbo said playing well defensively was the emphasis in preparation for the game.
“We did what we needed to do to get back on track,” she said. “Playing well on the defensive end was our focus in practice. We’ve been scoring enough points lately, but we’d been giving up way too many.
“We had three goals tonight. We wanted to hold (Lakeside) to single digits in each quarter, we wanted to limit them to one shot and we wanted to do a better job with our help-side defense. We got at least two of those three. I’ll take a 5,5,5,4. I think we’re back on track.”
Lakeside coach Rob Livingston knew the Dragons (2-9, 1-7) were in for a challenge.
“Geneva is a very good team,” he said. “I have a lot of respect for Coach Barbo and her girls. They know their roles.”
But he wasn’t pleased with his team’s response, either.
“We didn’t handle it very well,” Livingston said. “We made a lot of mental mistakes. It was discouraging, because I thought we had made at least three steps forward in our last few games, but we took numerous steps backward today.
“I’m disappointed that we lost today, but I’m more disappointed with how we lost. We hit a major roadblock today. We need to forget about today, but remember how it felt.”
It was a day of welcome memories for the Geneva girls. Not only did they play consistently defensively, but they continued their productivity offensively. They built a 36-10 halftime lead and held a 54-15 edge after three quarters.
All 12 Geneva players scored, led by Taylor Webb, who finished with 21 points, 13 rebounds, three blocked shots and three steals in just three quarters of work. No other Eagles reached double figures, but four others scored at least seven points. Courtney Thompson added nine points and seven rebounds and Jillian Nazor had eight points, three assists and three steals.
Natalie Stanley contributed seven points, five rebounds, four steals and two blocked shots, while reserve freshman forward Natalie Thomas scored seven points to match her game-leading total from the JV game and grabbed four rebounds while playing just the fourth quarter.
Lakeside’s best response was nine points from Dianna Moore. Only three other Dragons scored.
“We worked on focus and concentration in practice,” Webb said. “We worked hard on our defense. This was a big game for us. I think we’re back on track.”
“We worked real hard in practice,” Nazor said. “We knew we needed to step up again. We needed to stay focused and work hard on defense.
“We wanted to re-establish what we’d been doing. I think we accomplished what we came to do.”
