NAPERVILLE – Neuqua Valley girls basketball coach Mike Williams retrieved a crutch from a hobbled fan late in Friday’s game against Geneva.

His intent was to help free a ball stuck between the backboard and the side of the rim.

As referees waved off the gesture moments later at the sight of a quicker solution, the full-circle symbolism had been etched. Play resumed, and Geneva capped a 54-46 victory in the Upstate Eight Conference championship crossover, coming unshackled just more than two months after the Wildcats blew them out.