Girls basketball: Brooke Carlson, Batavia rally past Geneva in OT

BATAVIA – Brooke Carlson had ample opportunity Jan. 26 to believe this would be just another frustrating game for Batavia against Geneva.

Carlson, a Batavia senior guard and Colorado State commit, uncharacteristically air-balled two 3-point attempts. Never shy of contact, she was called three times for charges barreling into a defender – the third sidelining her for almost six minutes in the third quarter.

Carlson had three shots for the win in the final minute of regulation. She missed all three, but didn’t let any of it linger.

“Honestly, I don’t focus on what happens in the past,” Carlson said. “I’m just going to the present. I really just play for the team because I love all of them.”

In the end, Carlson could bask in the signature win of her Batavia career.

She scored 10 of her game-high 28 points in the fourth quarter to rally the Bulldogs from a seven-point deficit and then hit two big shots in overtime.

Kylee Gehrt’s basket with 33.6 seconds left was the fifth and final lead change of the extra period as Batavia beat visiting Geneva 54-53 in a showdown of DuKane Conference leaders.

Carlson, honored before the game for eclipsing 2,000 career points in Batavia’s previous game, soon will become the program’s all-time leading scorer.

But this win took the cake, a huge achievement to check off.

Geneva had won 11 consecutive meetings against Batavia coming into the game. Batavia’s last series win was in January 2019. The Vikings had a spell over their neighboring rivals, taking the first game between the two teams this season.

“This is the biggest accomplishment, especially for this team,” said Carlson, who shot 8 for 19 from the field and made 10 of 11 free throws. “We always struggle against them. This is a big energy booster for us, seeing that we can overcome the mentality. Us being able to persevere and overcome will help us.”

Hallie Crane added 11 points and Gehrt had eight for Batavia (21-5, 10-1).

Batavia coach Kevin Jensen, while noting what the win means in the scope of the conference race and sectional seeding, acknowledged the mental hurdle his girls overcame against their rival.

The Bulldogs spotted Geneva an early 9-0 lead but then went on an 18-0 run to take its biggest lead at 20-11. Batavia had more turnovers than points over the middle two quarters, Carlson scoring just one basket during that stretch, but Crane’s basket with 2:09 let in regulation tied it 43-43.

“I think they needed that,” Jensen said. “It was a battle, back and forth. Two pretty damn good teams. Different girls on each trying to will their team to win.”

For much of the night for Geneva (16-8, 9-2) that was senior Leah Palmer, who had 18 points and seven rebounds. During stretches of the game, Palmer was Geneva’s offense, grinding her way through a physical Batavia defense. Palmer’s deep 3-pointer that answered a Carlson basket gave Geneva a 43-37 lead with 4:03 left in regulation, but she fouled out less than a minute later.

Geneva initially felt Palmer’s absence, turning it over on three consecutive possessions after she fouled out. But an unlikely hero emerged in overtime, sophomore sub Keira McCann scoring three consecutive baskets for seven of her 10 points in the extra period. McCann’s last basket, with 41.8 seconds left, gave Geneva its final lead at 53-52.

“You never want your best kid to go down with foul trouble early, but in those moments sometimes it’s next girl up,” said Geneva assistant Lindsey Roscoe, who coached the team because head coach Sarah Meadows was out with the flu. “That’s been our motto this year.

“Super proud of this group. They stayed together.”

Batavia led 22-18 at halftime. Carlson sat with 6:43 left in the third quarter after picking up her third foul and Geneva went ahead 33-27 with five Vikings scoring in the third quarter.

Carlson returned to score eight of Batavia’s 10 points to tie the game after the Bulldogs trailed 40-33 with 5:32 left.

“Just doing whatever I could for my team,” Carlson said, “because when I was out, they did whatever they could for me.”

Jensen said one of his star’s biggest plays down the stretch was diving for a putback after feeding the post for a shot that was missed.

“Those are proof of how active you are in a game,” Jensen said. “She should be proud of what she’s accomplished but she’s a humble kid. She would have just assumed we didn’t [honor her before the game], but I told her she had to understand how big and how rare that is. She’s a special person.”

Kinsey Gracey added seven points for Geneva, all in the second half.

“I joked to Kevin you got an extra quarter out of us. It was a lot of fun,” Roscoe said. “We’re finally starting to put the pieces together. I saw a lot of growth tonight.”