Frazier reaches 2,000 as Batavia ties for UEC River title
Hannah Frazier didn't want any special attention Thursday night as she tried to become the first player in Batavia history to score 2,000 career points. All she wanted was a win.
Frazier ended up getting both. Her 2,000th point came as so many of the ones have before, on a strong low-post move and lefty lay-in.
More importantly to Frazier, Batavia came from behind in the second half to beat St. Charles East 62-57, tying Geneva for the Upstate Eight Conference River Division championship.
There wasn't any special announcement when Frazier reached the milestone with 3:57 left in the second quarter, and that was the way the St. Louis-bound senior wanted.
"I didn't want to think about it too much," Frazier said. "It was a conference championship game for us, I knew there was a lot riding on this. I didn't want to make a big deal out of this, we've already done so much for the (school) record, let's play the game to win and celebrate after."
That's just what Batavia (24-5, 11-1) did. Coach Kevin Jensen called timeout with 5 seconds to go, and as Frazier's 2,000-point mark was announced to crowd, teammates gave their star hugs and high-fives for an achievement she never dreamed of.
"Not in a million years," said Frazier, who became just the seventh girl in the Daily Herald's Fox Valley coverage area - and third this season - to eclipse the 2,000 mark (Maddie Versluys of Westminster Christian, Lindsay Schrader of Bartlett, Becca Smith of South Elgin, Ali Andrews of Huntley, Leslie Schock of Elgin and Taylor Whitley of Geneva being the others).
"It's an unbelievable feeling. You can't do it without great teammates and Jensen too. He's an awesome coach to play for."
St. Charles East (12-15, 7-5) did its best to play spoiler. The Saints took a 27-25 lead at halftime on Sara Rosenfeldt's last-second drive.
Rosenfeldt scored again early in the third for a 29-28 lead before a 7-0 Bulldogs run gave them the lead for good. Frazier had a 3-point play and MacKenzie Foster found a lane to the basket on an aggressive move.
"It doesn't matter what somebody is playing, she (Foster) pretty much can get to the rim," Jensen said. "She did she have some nice takes and sidestepped a couple girls. That was big for us."
After freshman Geddy Rerko hit a baseline jumper, Foster again drove for 2 before Frazier capped her 12-point quarter with a 3-pointer for a 48-38 lead.
The Saints battled back behind Rosenfeldt who scored 11 points in the fourth quarter. They got as close as 53-49 on Rosenfeldt's putback with three minutes left and got the ball back.
Frazier came up with a steal, then scored on an assist from Foster. Rerko's jumper restored a 57-49 Batavia lead with 1:51 left, giving the Bulldogs enough cushion to survive Rosenfeldt's 2 late 3s.
Rosenfeldt, who scored 30 last week against St. Viator, led the Saints with 28 points. Kelly Rinker added 15 and Hannah Vitkus 12 - those 3 combined for 55 of the team's 57.
"I was overall real pleased with the game," Saints coach Lori Drumtra said. "I feel we had a little letdown in the third quarter. We lost that sense of urgency for a short period of time. We had been executing so well in the first half."
Frazier finished with 30 points and 9 rebounds. Fellow seniors Jess Koch and Shea Bayram both added 8 while Foster and Rerko chipped in 6 each for Batavia who climbed from fourth in the River last year to first, sharing the title with Geneva just like they did Frazier's sophomore year.
"To end on a great note and to do it with your best friends your senior year is really cool," Frazier said.