Prospect holds off Geneva at Montini Christmas Tournament

LOMBARD – Prospect sophomore guard Zoe Black went up for a rebound and came down with a gusher of a bloody nose after colliding with a Geneva player.

To add insult to injury, she was called for a foul on the play late in the third quarter. Black was forced to leave the game, which was delayed for several minutes while event personnel cleaned the blood off the floor.

“I’ve never, ever had a bloody nose in my life,” Black said. “Throughout the whole time, I was just more concerned about getting back in the game than my actual pain.

“I always play for my team and I wanted to be there for them, so…”

So after getting cleaned up and checked out by a trainer, Black returned early in the fourth quarter. She hit two clutch shots, including a 3-pointer, to help the Knights knock off Geneva 63-50 in the first round of the Montini Christmas Tournament on Monday.

The Knights (9-3) will play Lyons (13-0) in the quarterfinals at 6 p.m. Thursday.

“She is a super tough kid and she wanted to play for her teammates,” Prospect coach Matt Weber said. “So as soon as she was able to play, she said, ‘I’m good to go.’ She came back and fought.”

The Knights needed every ounce of that effort to hold off the determined Vikings. Geneva led 8-6 early before Prospect went on an 18-2 run fueled mainly by transition baskets to take a 24-10 lead.

But the Vikings (3-8) fought back behind the play of Bridget Hecker, who scored 10 of her 13 points in the first half, and Gabby Webb, who had nine of her 11 points, to cut the deficit to 37-33 at halftime.

“They’re bigger than us,” Geneva coach Sarah Meadows said. “They’re probably a little bit more physical than we were and they ran the floor really well.

“We really were bad at that in the first quarter but I thought we made good adjustments to that in the second quarter.”

That came as no surprise to Weber.

“We knew Geneva was going to come out and fight,” Weber said. “They’re a great program. They’re well-coached. We knew they would be prepared and have a scouting report.

“I thought we were a little sloppy in the first half letting them extend possessions with second-chance opportunities, but then I thought in the second half we kind of focused on some small things like helping each other communicate more defensively and making sure they only get one chance on offense.”

That effort worked for the Knights, who outrebounded the Vikings 36-21, including 16-8 on the offensive glass. Prospect also benefitted from a balance offense, as Alli Linke led the way with 17 points, 10 rebounds, four steals and two assists.

Sadie Splinter added 14 points and seven boards, while Black had 11 points, Colleen Shute tallied nine points and Gina Fall had eight points, including a 3-pointer after Geneva had closed with 39-36.

That triggered a 10-0 run before Black was injured. The Knights were up 52-43 when she returned and scored on a layup 48 seconds into the fourth quarter.

Block later sank a 3-pointer and followed with a steal and a pass to Fall for a layup to extend the lead to 61-45 with 5:23 left.

“I think we just did a good job of staying ahead and keeping our rhythm instead of focusing on theirs,” Black said. “We did a good job of taking care of the ball.”

As for Black, she also had four rebounds, three assists, three steals and a block and said afterward she was fine except for a mild headache.

“I thought I contributed the best I could and I think my team did a great job contributing as well,” Block said. “Throughout the whole game, my whole team was great.”

Hecker and Peri Sewell paced the Vikings with 13 points.

“We’re getting better every game,” Meadows said. “I’m always impressed with our effort.

“We’ve had effort all season long. We just have to put four quarters together.”