Senior guard Leah Palmer knew she had to change her approach this season for Geneva.
Taking over as the Vikings’ leading scorer, Palmer didn’t have the luxury of upperclassmen like Cassidy Arni ahead of her, so she realized from the get-go this was going to be her show.
“As a mindset, I’ve gotten a lot better with that,” Palmer said. “I just want to come out and start as hot as I can. I worry about coming out with some energy, helping my team out as much as I can.”
Help? Palmer didn’t need much of that Thursday night.
She put on a clinic in the first half against the host Hilltoppers, totaling 18 points and 10 rebounds by halftime during a 45-32 victory in the Class 4A Glenbard West Regional championship game.
Palmer ended up producing a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds for Geneva (22-8), which advanced to play at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Batavia Sectional semifinals against St. Charles North (27-4), a 35-22 winner over host Lake Park for the regional title.
Peri Sweeney added nine points for the Vikings. Sophia Brown led Glenbard West (26-7) with 11.
Summing up the first half, Palmer scored 10 points in the first quarter and also assisted on Geneva’s other basket. She then added eight points and another assist in the second quarter.
To wit, Palmer scored or assisted on all 23 points as the Vikings took a 23-16 halftime lead.
“Phenomenal,” Geneva coach Sarah Meadows said. “She’s a great basketball player, period. She’s capable of doing that. I feel like people are surprised and it’s like, ‘Why?’ She’s so good.
“It’s kind of like we expect it, to be honest.”
The hot start was a sign of how Palmer has worked on that different mindset.
“I knew Glenbard West was going to come out physical and they did,” she said. “They came out and hit a bunch of shots, so I just wanted to do everything I could to keep my team in the game.
“We weren’t hitting our shots, so I wanted to be the person to help us move forward so we didn’t have too much of a deficit.”
Glenbard West made a concerted effort to slow down Palmer in the second half, but that just led to more assists. Geneva started the third quarter with an 11-2 burst.
Palmer scored two points and had two assists as the lead swelled to 34-18. The Vikings led by as many as 20 points in the fourth.
“Face guarded, it was hard to get open,” Palmer said. “They were heavy help, which was great because I was able to dish it to my teammates. I was able to find them.
“If I have three girls on me, I’m going to find the open teammate.”
Meadows said Palmer’s passing is an underrated part of her game.
“They put pressure on her and then she distributed the ball,” Meadows said. “It’s like, ‘Go score a layup if they’re going to double me.’ That’s another really good part of her game.
“She sees the floor and understands that.”
Glenbard West coach Kristi Faulkner said Palmer was too much to handle.
“She’s a great player,” Faulkner said. “We had a hard time containing her. We had a game plan, and give them credit. She played really well.”
The Vikings will face a familiar foe Tuesday in St. Charles North. The two teams split their two regular-season games.
But Meadows believes, as the spotlight increases, Palmer will be up to the challenge.
“She’s a gamer,” Meadows said. “She’s a competitor. She wants that. She feeds on that. She wants the best of the best, and she’s not going to back down to that.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
