Practice makes perfect for multi-talented Baltes

Practice hard, play hard.

It's something that comes natural for St. Charles East's Lexi Baltes.

In fact, the versatile three-sport athlete doesn't know any other way.

"I've always been taught that you play how you practice," said Baltes.

A four-year varsity starter, Baltes has provided many thrills for the Saints' girls basketball team.

During her freshman campaign, Baltes had the unenviable position of being the starting point guard but enjoyed the benefit of playing alongside four senior starters - Kate Meyers, Katie White, Ashley Morawski and Brittany Armato.

"Starting with four seniors made the transition a lot easier," said Baltes.

As a sophomore, she averaged 8.3 points (second on the team), 3.6 assists and 2.3 steals per game.

The 5-foot-7 backcourt standout continued to raise her game to another level last season as a junior when she averaged 12.2 points and 3.6 assists, was one of the area's leading 3-point shooters and connected on 72 percent of her free-throw attempts.

Her all-around game took off during last year's postseason when she helped lift the Saints to their first regional title in 3 years.

After pouring in a game-high 22 points during her team's 65-54 first-round triumph over host South Elgin, Baltes added 17 points in the Saints' dramatic 41-37 overtime upset of top-seeded St. Charles North.

Baltes, a 2-time Daily Herald Tri-Cities All-Area Girls Basketball Team selection, added to her ever-growing list of accomplishments last Tuesday night against Oswego.

After taking a feed from forward/center Kara Schnier, Baltes became the Saints' second-ever 1,000-point scorer (joining 2005 graduate Claire Sheehan) when she knocked down a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 19.7 seconds remaining.

While the Saints eventually dropped a 53-47 decision to the state-ranked Panthers (19-2), it seemed only fitting that the 3-pointer came when her team needed it most - trailing by 8 in the final minute.

Ever the competitor, Baltes seemed almost uncomfortable when fielding questions from newspaper reporters about the career milestone after the game.

In other words, she takes a great deal of pride in the feat but would have been a lot happier with the team triumph.

"It's unfortunate that it couldn't have happened in a win," said Baltes.

It should tell you more about Baltes - that personal accolades never trump team accomplishments.

But becoming a 1,000-point career scorer doesn't happen often, either.

"That's very impressive," said senior teammate Schnier. "For anyone, that's a huge accomplishment. And you have to think about her freshman year when she wasn't looked upon to score as much because we had a lot of good seniors that year.

"I'm really proud to have her as a teammate."

St. Charles East coach Lori Drumtra is also happy to have Baltes on her side.

"She's kind of been our anchor for the last three years especially," said Drumtra. "It's hard to put into words what she has meant to our program. She's a great role model for the younger kids.

"She sets the tone for the entire team by the way she goes at it in practice. And she puts in the extra hours after practice."

Both player and coach agree that Baltes has made consistent improvements along the way.

"I've gotten much stronger since freshman year," said Baltes. "Every time I've played a game, I've learned something new and hopefully have gotten better because of it."

"At the end of every year since freshman year, I've given her challenges and she has not only met them but surpassed them," added Drumtra. "After her freshman year, I told her that we'd need more scoring from her as a sophomore - and she answered the call.

"The fact that she has been voted as captain since sophomore year speaks volumes about her. She's incredibly smart. She has a great basketball IQ and sees the court so well when breaking down an opponent. It's like having a coach on the floor. In fact, I think she'd make an excellent coach someday."

Baltes is a multi-dimensional point guard who can beat pressure defenses, find the open player, drive to the basket, shoot the mid-range jumper, post up inside, connect on 3-point attempts, battle underneath for rebounds and get to the free-throw line.

"She's very versatile," said Drumtra. "When you're a guard who can go down in the post, you're a hard match-up for teams. Plus, she's our best free-throw shooter. She can do everything on the court.

"The points are great but it's all those other things that make her so valuable."

Baltes, who "definitely wants to play college basketball somewhere" next year but doesn't plan on selecting a school until after the season, has enjoyed her time at St. Charles East - especially playing alongside classmates Danielle Jordan, Jacki Leibforth, Kelly Pottle, (4-year varsity veteran) Jaime Rust, Steph Roan, Kala Sigona and Schnier this season.

"We've been teammates and friends for many, many years," said Baltes.

Drumtra knows things will be different without Baltes in 2010-11.

"I don't even like to think about it," said the coach. "I don't even want to talk about it. I've basically watched this kid grow up.

"They say that every coach during the course of his or her career has one or two athletes who were 'the one.' Lexi has been 'the one' for me."

You can contact Craig Brueske at csb4k@hotmail.com.