Similar to last season, Geneva’s Leah Palmer recently went through a tough stretch with her outside shot.
Channeling what she learned, Palmer visited her trainer this week to work out the kinks.
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“He was able to fix things and I was able to take what he taught me into the game,” Palmer said. “The same thing happened last year where I kind of went through a dead spot with my shot.
“I was able to take what I learned last year and push through mentally for sure.”
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After missing her first shot Thursday in a 69-50 DuKane Conference win over St. Charles East, Palmer got back on track for the Vikings.
The junior guard/forward scored 10 straight points during a 17-3 run that would put Geneva (22-3, 12-0) up big early, giving the Vikings a lead they didn’t relinquish.
“Shooters are going to go through a little slump — everybody does,” Geneva coach Sarah Meadows said. “It’s going to come back. She’s too good. Just ride it out.
“She can shoot off the dribble, too. They don’t all have to be threes. Just get something to build some confidence and then go to your craft on the outside.”
The Vikings forced four turnovers in the first quarter to fuel the ride. They had six assists as well.
“In transition, we got a bunch of open looks, we were passing the ball real well and we were shooting well, so that led to a lot of early buckets,” Palmer said. “I had like five or six games where I didn’t hit a three.
“This is a great game. I got my shot back, which is great.”
Palmer credits two of the unsung players in Geneva’s starting lineup, Rilee Hasegawa and Caroline Madden, for helping her snap out of the funk.
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The duo combined for only 12 points, but they combined for eight assists and five steals to keep the offense flowing.
“They’re definitely great players for us,” Palmer said. “They’re so fast and they can penetrate real easily. They’re great passers and they kick the ball to us when we’re wide open and we shoot.”
The lead reached 29-9 with 7:15 left in the second quarter and was 45-26 at halftime. Geneva shot 9-for-19 on 3-pointers in the first half, with Cassidy Arni scoring 12 points and Palmer adding 10.
“It’s like every first half against them it’s like they can’t miss for a little bit,” St. Charles East coach Josh Foster said. “The one thing is, they’re a really good team. When they hit shots, it’s tough.”
St. Charles East (10-16-3-9) hung around in the second half, however. The Saints battled back to cut the lead to 56-47 with 4:30 left in the third quarter but got no closer.
Hannah Masud led St. Charles East with 15 points. Callie Reed added 13.
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“These last 10 games the energy, the way we’ve been playing, has been really good, especially for some of the girls that are going to come back next year and even some of the seniors,” Foster said. “They don’t give up. They stay after it.”
Palmer led all scorers with 18 points for Geneva. Lauren Slagle added 15 and Arni had 13.
The Vikings, who earned the top seed in the Class 4A Glenbard West Sectional, were not pleased with how they finished Thursday, especially since the calendar flipped to February.
“We were a little frustrated with how we ended the game,” Palmer said. “We’ll fix things moving forward. We’re glad that happened in the regular season, not the postseason, so we can learn moving forward.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
