Takeaways from the battle between Galesburg's girls basketball team and No. 1 Geneseo

GALESBURG — The Galesburg High School girls basketball team pushed its Western Big 6 Conference game against No. 1 ranked Geneseo into overtime on Thursday night.

But the Silver Streaks were unable to clip the Maple Leafs, and Galesburg fell 51-46 at John Thiel Gym.

"I've got a ton of respect for coach (Evan) Massey and this program," Geneseo coach Scott Hardison said. "They were ready for us. They gave us a punch in the nose in the second half especially. I thought they played really well. I told our girls 'that's one of the toughest teams we've played all year.'

"I was proud we overcame the adversity but this is what we need for the postseason," Hardison added. "This was a great environment for high school basketball. It was a high pressure situation. We were able to do just enough at the end to win."

Geneseo (23-0, 9-0) struggled at the start. The Maple Leafs committed turnovers on their first three possessions, and they ended up with five turnovers by the five minute mark in the first quarter. At that point, the Streaks (17-6, 5-4) held a 5-0 lead.

A bucket from sophomore Kiarra Kilgore with 4:19 left in the first put Galesburg ahead 7-0. A 3-pointer from senior Kammie Ludwig with 4:01 remaining in the period started a 5-0 run by Geneseo.

Kilgore scored with 1:44 left in the first quarter, and the Streaks led 9-5. However, Galesburg wouldn't score from there in the stanza while Geneseo closed the first with another 5-0 run for a 10-9 advantage heading into the second quarter.

The Maple Leafs outscored the Streaks 14-6 in the second stanza for a 24-15 lead at the half.

"In the second quarter, they went up and I thought when that happened we let it affect our offense," Massey said. "For just a short time, we panicked. Geneseo plays such good defense and we were just trying to squeeze the ball into spots that weren't there and that kind of gave them an opening.

"Fortunately, we were able to ride it out."

Streaks rally in second half

Down 32-21, Massey had words of encouragement for his squad during a mask timeout with 3:37 left in the third quarter.

"We can do this guys," Massey said. "Stay with it."

The Streaks did just that. They closed the third with a 9-4 run, and Galesburg trailed 36-30 heading into the fourth quarter.

Geneseo opened the fourth with a 4-0 run and was up 40-30 with 5:40 left in the quarter. The Streaks went on a 9-0 run from there, and Galesburg faced a 40-39 deficit with 3:31 left in the fourth.

After that, neither team could buy a bucket for nearly two minutes. Ludwig scored, was fouled and sank a free throw with 1:34 left in the fourth to break the scoreless spell.

Streaks senior Kadynce Lydic scored with 40.3 seconds left in the fourth, and Galesburg was down 43-41. The Maple Leafs turned the ball over on their next possession, and senior Abby Davidson went to work in the paint for the Streaks. She scored with 30.2 seconds remaining in the fourth to tie things up at 43-all.

Galesburg senior Abby Lingafelter missed a layup as the buzzer sounded and the game went into overtime.

Geneseo seals win with free throws

Kilgore drained a 3-pointer to open the extra four minutes but the Streaks wouldn't score again. Kilgore ended up fouling out with 2:24 left in OT, and Galesburg's offense went stagnant with her on the bench.

The Maple Leafs sealed the win at the charity stripe, as six of Geneseo's eight points in overtime were free throws.

"They played with as much heart as you can ask for from a team," Massey said of his Streaks. "They never quit, they never gave up, and they kept going. The ball just didn't quite bounce exactly the way we needed it to at the end.

"Down the stretch, I thought we were able to make some big shots," Massey added. "Ki got hot, and I think Kadynce made some big plays offensively and defensively that got us in there."

By the numbers

Kilgore contributed a team-high 22 points, and she had 11 rebounds. Davidson finished with 12 points and seven rebounds for Galesburg in the defeat.

"Kilgore is the real deal," Hardison said. "Davidson is good."

Lingafelter had six points and 12 rebounds, and Lydic netted six points for the Streaks.

"We definitely played hard," Kilgore said. "The first time we played them we lost by eight and this time we went all the way into overtime with them and we only lost by five.

"We played a lot harder this time."

Ludwig finished with a game-high 26 points, and junior Danielle Beach chipped in a dozen points for the Maple Leafs.

And what's been the key in 2021-22 for undefeated Geneseo?

"I think a lot of people think we're Kammie Ludwig and friends and we're not. We have five people," Hardison said. "I thought (senior) Jordan Porter stepped up and looked for her shot tonight.

"We didn't shoot very well and that's a credit to Galesburg."

Around the Western Big 6

Alleman picked up a 53-37 win over Quincy on Thursday evening at Don Morris Gym. United Township downed Sterling 57-29 at the Panther Den, and Rock Island ended up with a 50-44 victory over Moline at historic Wharton Field House.

Galesburg's schedule

Tue., Nov. 16: Galesburg 66, Limestone 49

Sat., Nov. 20: Galesburg 70, Freeport 28

Sat., Nov. 20: Galesburg 55, Springfield 32

Tue., Nov. 24: Moline 61, Galesburg 36

Sat. Nov. 27: Galesburg 73, Peoria Manual 48 (Turkey shootout)

Sat. Nov. 27: Galesburg 72, Champaign Centennial 35 (Turkey shootout)

Thur., Dec. 2: Geneseo 60, Galesburg 52

Sat., Dec. 4: Galesburg 64, United Township 31

Thur., Dec. 9: Quincy 46, Galesburg 37

Thur., Dec. 16: Galesburg 46, Alleman 41

Sat., Dec. 18: Galesburg 71, Burlington (Iowa) 23 (Streaks Invite)

Sat. Dec. 18: Galesburg 62, Bloomington 39 (Streaks Invite)

Mon., Dec. 27: Galesburg 65, Altamont 56 at Mattoon Holiday Tourney

Mon., Dec. 27: Galesburg 57, Richland County 31 at Mattoon Holiday Tourney

Tue., Dec. 28: Galesburg 57, Effingham St. Anthony 33 at Mattoon Holiday Tourney

Tue., Dec. 28: Mahomet-Seymour 39, Galesburg 34 at Mattoon Holiday Tourney

Wed., Dec. 29: Galesburg 61, Richland County 34 at Mattoon Holiday Tourney (3rd place game)

Tue., Jan. 4: Galesburg 51, Rock Island 41

Sat. Jan. 8: Galesburg 57, Peoria Manual 26

Mon., Jan. 10: Galesburg 60, Sterling 32

Thur., Jan. 13: Galesburg 56, Moline 40

Sat., Jan. 15: Lincoln 47, Galesburg 41

Thur., Jan. 20: Geneseo 51, Galesburg 46 in OT

Sat., Jan. 22 vs. Peoria, 1:30 p.m. (Downstate Classic)

Sat., Jan. 22 vs. Morton, 6 p.m. (Downstate Classic)

Thur., Jan. 27 at Quincy, 7 p.m.

Sat., Jan. 29 vs. United Township, 1:30 p.m.

Tue., Feb. 1 at Canton, 7 p.m.

Thur., Feb. 3 at Rock Island, 7 p.m.

Sat., Feb. 5 at Alleman, 7 p.m.

Wed. Feb. 9 vs. Sterling, 7 p.m.

Matthew Wheaton can be reached at (309) 315-6073 or at mwheaton@register-mail.com. Follow him on Twitter @matthewlwheaton

This article originally appeared on Galesburg Register-Mail: IHSA Basketball: Streaks girls push Maple Leafs into OT but fall