Geneva's Wicinski rebounding at incredible rate

Everyone knows Geneva senior Lauren Wicinski has a Division I future in volleyball. She'll be an impact player as a freshman next year at Northern Illinois.

I think an interesting question is whether Wicinski also could have reached that level if she chose basketball as her main sport.

Other Division I players are more skilled offensively, but how many can control the paint defensively like Wicinski?

She has been a terror rebounding all year - grabbing 13 a game at the Benet/Naperville North Holiday tournament - and the 6-foot-1 forward took that dominance to an ever higher level Saturday against Hillcrest at the McDonald's Shootout at Willowbrook.

Wicinski pulled down a career-high 20 rebounds. She also scored 11 points, made all three of her free throws, had a key assist to Kelsey Augustine when the game got tight in the fourth quarter and had 2 steals.

But it is her work on the boards that sets her apart.

"I just worked hard and tried to get in position because they were working hard too," Wicinski said. "I just had to get up there and get it."

It was easy to see why DePaul can't wait to have Hillcrest senior Uniquah Hampton in their program. She single-handedly kept the Hawks in the game with 31 points including five 3-pointers, most of them contested.

And why Ohio University can't wait to have a ballhandler like Geneva junior Kat Yelle, who can neutralize a press by herself with her dazzling moves.

But while watching Wicinski go up against tall, athletic Hillcrest players and continually come away with the ball, how hard is it to imagine her being able to have the same role helping a Division I college? Plus she's a much better passer than most post players and a very intelligent player.

Geneva coach Gina Nolan has seen that all season as Wicinski has elevated her game, even from an All-Area season as a junior. Wicinski averaged 11.5 points and 6.3 rebounds last year, and while her scoring is about the same, her rebounding has almost doubled.

"Even before Christmas she has been dominating on the boards and she did that again (Saturday)," Nolan said. "She never came off the floor. She was just a workhorse for us. Credit to her and how hard she's been working."

Those rebounds are a huge part of Geneva's success. Wicinski isn't just good at grabbing them, she has become an expert at immediately finding the outlet person and starting a fast break.

"Lauren and Kelsey are big, them getting rebounds is a big part of our game because we can get it out and run the court," junior guard Sammy Scofield said.

Fitting in: Sophomore Ashley Santos continues to look more and more comfortable with the Vikings in her first year transferring from Bartlett.

"I got more in the mix, everyone has meshed together and (we) know each other better," Santos said. "We pass so well to whoever is open and it really worked well for us (Saturday)."

Santos was key to Geneva's win Saturday with a team-high 16 points, plus 9 rebounds and using her athleticism to help the Vikings both defensively and handling the Hawks' pressure.

Earlier this season there might have been times when her shots didn't come as naturally in the offense, but now Santos seems to be in a good flow with her new teammates.

"It was just getting to know the offense itself and getting to know her teammates," Nolan said. "She's got so much ability and it's almost a matter of harnessing it into what's effective in our program. She's done a real nice job of doing that and she's been a great team player. It's nice to see her improve and she looks more and more comfortable out on the floor every time she steps out there."

Déjà vu: Watching two and three quick defenders fly at Yelle Saturday brought back memories of last year's Class 4A state tournament and Geneva's semifinal loss to Young.

Even though the Vikings fell that night, Yelle showed how valuable she is to the team by keeping her cool and handling all that pressure - which allowed Geneva to stay in the game until late in the third quarter.

Hillcrest came at Yelle and the Vikings Saturday with that same kind of full-court attack, and again Yelle was up to the task.

Her value to the team might have been best illustrated by the two minutes she wasn't in the game. While sitting on the bench to start the second quarter with two fouls, Hillcrest blitzed Geneva with a 9-0 run.

How far Geneva goes in this year's state tournament could in part be determined by how Yelle, Wicinski and others avoid foul trouble.

"It (Hillcrest and Young's pressure) was very similar. Almost the same with that kind of press and then in the half court," said an exhausted Yelle after Saturday's game.

"With two minutes left I just started getting really tired. Whenever my coach called timeout I just got water. It is really tiring having to do that the whole game."

Milestone nears: St. Charles East senior guard Lexi Baltes could be headed for a big weekend, and not just because the Saints play their rival St. Charles North Saturday night.

With 973 points in her stellar four-year career, Baltes is 27 away from reaching 1,000. She has two cracks at the milestone - last done at St. Charles East by Claire Sheehan - this weekend, first Friday at Elgin and then Saturday against the North Stars.

On the boys side, Batavia senior Ricky Clopton scored a career-best 31 points in the Bulldogs' last game Friday. He will need similar numbers the rest of the way to reach 1,000 points. With 749 points in his career, Clopton would have to average around 28 a game depending on how far the Bulldogs go in the postseason.