GHS’s defense holds off Dixon

With a strong defensive effort that only allowed 10 points through three quarters, the Geneseo Lady Leaf basketball team emerged with a 34-16 conference win over Dixon Jan. 10.

“Coming into last night, Dixon was 2-2 in the conference so they are better than they looked last night,” said head coach Scott Hardison. “But our defense played well and made them look worse than they have been.”

Geneseo opened the game with the 15-8 lead in the first quarter, which was followed up by a 24-8 advantage at the half. The Lady Leafs scored nine points in the second and held Dixon scoreless.

“What we really tried to do is when Dixon’s Brooke Bailey got rid of the ball we tried to keep the ball out of her hands because everything runs through her,” said Hardison. “She has been scoring 16 points and we held her to five so it was a pretty good job by our guards.”

In the third quarter, Geneseo scored five points and allowed just two points by Dixon. The Lady Leafs were held to only five points in the fourth quarter, while Dixon scored six for the final.

“Offensively, we missed some close layups with some contact and just didn’t finish around the rim,” said Hardison.

Leading the offensive effort for Geneseo was Devan Griffin with 16 points, hitting seven shots from the field and two free throws.

Kelsey Nystrom was hot from behind the arc, as she drained three in the first quarter for her nine points, while Kaci Storm went 4-for-4 from the free-throw for her four points.

Kassi Anderson added three points on a field goal and a free throw, while Katelyn Mundt scored two points on a field goal in the final minutes of action.

The Lady Leafs (15-3 overall and 3-1 in the NIB 12) will be on the road this weekend when they face Sycamore at 6 p.m. Jan. 14.

“I want to see us ready to compete night-in-and-night- out because that is what we will see in the postseason. We can’t have an off night,” said Hardison.