Geneva captured its first IHSA girls’ basketball state championship at the 2017 IHSA Class 4A State Finals at Redbird Arena on Friday and Saturday, March 3-4, 2017, but it didn’t come without some high drama.
The Vikings needed baskets in the closing seconds of both games to pull off the dramatic victories.
Trailing 33-32 on Friday in the semifinals vs. Fremd, All-State senior guard Margaret Whitley went to the hoop and banked in the game-winner with 3.2 seconds remaining. Fremd inbounded the ball, but was unable to get off a halfcourt heave before the clock expired:
Geneva never trailed in the state championship game vs. Edwardsville, that was until Edwardsville’s Rachel Pranger scored on a layup with 23 seconds left in the game to give the Tigers a 40-39 advantage. Geneva continued play and the ball ended up in Whitley’s hands again. She went to the rim, where her floater hit the back iron and bounced out. The ball was tipped by a host of players trying to corral the rebound and ended up in the hands of Geneva junior Stephanie Hart. Hart immediately put the ball back up and after a dramatic bounce on the rim, it fell through with 4.4 seconds remaining. Edwardsville inbounded the ball and called timeout with 1.9 seconds left, but its ensuing inbounds pass was stolen near midcourt to clinch Geneva’s first state championship: