Girls basketball notes: St. Charles East enjoying banner season; Abdul reaches new heights at Wheaton North

There is no disputing the fact that St. Charles East’s girls basketball team has played a rugged schedule this season.

Not only do the Saints (20-6, 10-0) play in a tough DuKane Conference, but they have also faced a gauntlet of sorts in nonconference play.

Four of their 6 losses have come against 3 teams — Waubonsie Valley (twice), Benet Academy, and Lyons Township — that owned a combined record of 65-3 entering this week’s action.

The way things have worked out, the Saints have also played Prospect and Glenbrook South two times apiece, splitting with each.

Add Trinity and Glenbard West to the mix, and 7 of the Saints’ nonconference opponents own a combined record of 135-31.

“That’s what we’ve tried to do,” Saints coach Katie Claussner said of the beefed-up schedule. “I hate losing, but I’d rather us lose that game last Monday (to Glenbrook South at Batavia’s MLK Day) then a few weeks from now in the regionals or sectionals.

“We try to play tough teams as many times as possible to prepare us, and I think that’s exactly what it is doing. It’s all about showing them how to get through tough situations.”

Claussner, who starred at St. Charles East before playing at Washington University (Mo.), understands what being a Saints player is all about.

“She knows the culture,” said senior guard/forward Corinne Reed, who leads the team in scoring with a 14-point average. “Her and coach (Sam) Munroe know about what playing at St. Charles East means.

“I love her. She’s willing to listen to all our opinions. She can get on us, but she has that balance — being able to coach us while also being able to address certain things.”

During Claussner’s head coaching debut season a year ago, the Saints captured the Class 4A regional title before losing a 63-51 decision to conference foe Batavia in the sectional championship.

“The biggest thing is preaching a championship mentality,” said Claussner. “To us, it’s staying locked in all four quarters. On offense, we’re pushing on transition. On defense, we’re getting turnovers that lead to transition.

“We’ve played some good teams, so we know they’re going to have runs. It’s how we recover from that without letting it take over our mentality.”

The Saints have received significant contributions from seniors Alyse Price (6.4 rebounds per game), Sofia O’Sullivan (1.7 steals per game, 73 percent free-throw shooting), and 5-foot-7 junior Addie Schilb (10.1 ppg, 35% from 3-point range).

“We also have two freshmen who get a ton of minutes,” Claussner said of 6-foot Brooklyn Schilb and guard Kathlyn Bainbridge.

“KB (Bainbridge) hit two major threes for us against Wheaton North (59-46 win last Saturday),” said the coach. “It’s about having players who come off the bench and have that confidence to take those shots. And Brooklyn (Schilb) — she rarely comes off the floor.”

Reed, an Akron commit, is shooting 36% from beyond the arc, while also drawing tough defensive assignments.

“We’re all best friends on and off the court,” Reed said of her teammates. “We’re all willing to pick each other up and play through tough times. We all want to see each other succeed.”

Abdul leaves her mark at Wheaton North

During her freshman year at Wheaton North 3 years ago, Sara Abdul had the opportunity to watch then-senior guard Claire Hyde break Hannah Swider’s school career scoring mark as a member of the Falcons’ Class 4A regional championship squad.

Flash forward 3 years — and Abdul found herself in a familiar position during a late December clash with rival Wheaton Warrenville South.

Abdul, a 5-foot-6 senior and 3-time all-conference player, became the Falcons’ all-time leading scorer when she made a 3-pointer during a 40-37 loss to the Tigers, eclipsing Hyde’s 1,529-point mark.

“She had a huge impact on me,” Abdul said of Hyde, “as well as all the seniors (Lindsey Shanahan, Caroline Gaither) I played with throughout my freshman year. “They motivated me and realized my potential — and told me that I could really good.”

Currently having amassed approximately 1,700 points, Abdul has additional goals in mind.

“I’d like to try and score my 2,000th point and hopefully commit sometime soon because I want to play college basketball,” she said.

“Since Sara was a sophomore, she has grown big time in maturity and has developed a voice that hadn’t in the past,” said Falcons coach Tyler Bantz, who took over when Abdul was a sophomore. “She has played more varsity games than anyone else on our team, so she has seen and experienced a lot on and off and floor that can help out other players, especially our younger guards.”

Abdul, who set the school single-game scoring record as a sophomore, also owns school marks in field goals made (game and career), free throws attempted and made (season and career), and career steals.

“She’s got terrific ballhandling abilities and has a variety of different finishes — mid-range or at the rim,” said Bantz. “She can see the floor well, and the group has started to recognize that when Sara has the ball, you have to have your hands ready because if there’s an opening, she’s getting it to them.”

St. Charles East celebrates 50 years of girls sports

Organized by Rita Payleitner, Heather Von Hoff Trask, and Rae Anne Payleitner, St. Charles East will celebrate the 50th anniversary of girls sports in St. Charles during its Legacy Night Friday at the high school.

Rita, a 3-sport athlete at St. Charles High School in 1973-1974 and a 1976 graduate, was 1 of the early trailblazers for girls sports in St. Charles.

“Teachers asked students after gym class if they were interested in playing sports to raise their hands,” said Saints girls basketball coach Katie Claussner, herself a 2015 graduate and former standout guard at St. Charles East. “If Rita hadn’t raised her hand, who knows — it could have been another 10-15 years before girls sports started in St. Charles.”

Rita’s daughter, Rae Anne, a 2011 St. Charles East graduate, was a high school softball standout.

“Legacy Night is celebrating anyone who played girls sports in St. Charles (St. Charles, St. Charles East, and St. Charles North),” added Claussner. “Everyone is encouraged to attend.”

A dinner will be held from 4-6 p.m. Friday at the school, followed by a ceremony prior to the St. Charles North-St. Charles East varsity girls basketball game (7:25 p.m.).