Dreams do come true. Geneva’s Lauren Slagle proves that after superb effort in supersectional. ‘This was our season.’

Growing up, Geneva’s Lauren Slagle dreamed of finishing off a performance like this.

In the biggest game of her career Monday night, with a trip to the state’s Final Four on the line, the junior forward was front and center in the fourth quarter for the Vikings.

Especially after a loss last season in the sectional semifinals, this had to feel …

“It feels amazing,” Slagle said. “These are the types of memories that you’re wishing you have with your whole team. We just stuck together. We wanted this more.

“Last year, our season ended short. We knew that this was our year. This was our season.”

This also was Slagle’s night.

She scored eight of her 11 points in the fourth, forcing a tie and giving the Vikings the lead for good in a 51-47 victory over Barrington in the Class 4A Schaumburg Supersectional.

Geneva coach Sarah Meadows knew the Grand Valley State recruit was in the right position to come through after sitting out much of the second quarter due to foul trouble.

“She was champing at the bit,” Meadows said of Slagle. “She finished exactly the way we needed her.”

Geneva (29-3) will face powerhouse Benet (24-7), a 47-46 winner over Kenwood, at 4:15 p.m. Friday in a state semifinal at Illinois State’s CEFCU Arena in Normal.

Leah Palmer scored a game-high 22 points for Geneva. Caroline Madden and Slagle each had 11. Molly O’Riordan led Barrington (26-8) with 20. Gwen Adler added 15 points and 14 rebounds.

Slagle had only three points as the Vikings headed into the fourth facing a 34-34 tie.

But after Palmer missed a shot, Slagle angled her way in for the rebound, put it back and hit a free throw to give the Vikings a three-point lead to start off the quarter.

“She’s so quick with her first move of anything,” Meadows said of Slagle. “When she got that I was like, ‘Oh my goodness.’ Then the place went nuts.

“I knew we were OK. It gave us a lot of momentum.”

Barrington coach Babbi Barreiro lamented the fact that the Fillies even allowed the rebound.

“That’s what Geneva does,” Barreiro said. “We tried to not give them those second chances, and for a while, we did a pretty good job.

“That’s kind of what they do. They get a lot of second chances. You have to keep them out of the paint.”

Slagle’s free throw created a 38-38 tie, and she followed that with a layup off a feed from Rilee Hasegawa to give the Vikings the lead for good.

Then, Slagle’s third basket of the quarter came out of the Vikings’ unselfish ball movement off an assist from Cassidy Arni.

“All five of us played so well together,” Slagle said. “You can’t win state or go to state with just three people.

“With our ball movement, everyone has to be perfect, otherwise you can’t guard us. We have to be moving the ball.”

Barrington still had life in the final seconds, however.

The Fillies cut the lead to 49-47 with nine seconds left and sent Madden to the line in the bonus. She calmly hit both free throws to ice the win.

“We needed them,” Meadows said. “There was still a lot of time left. She crushed both of those. That’s the moment she wants.”

The Vikings advanced to state for the fifth time in program history. It’s their first trip to Normal since winning back-to-back state titles in the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons.

“It’s amazing,” Slagle said. “I’m super excited. We are going to state. We have two more games and we’re glad this isn’t our last.

“None of us wanted it to end here. We wanted our run to keep going.”

Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.