Batavia's Koch brings smarts, touch

In the first half last Saturday against St. Charles North, Batavia senior Jess Koch let a 3-pointer fly from the left corner.

Koch has made 26 from beyond the arc this year, second-most on the 18-5 Bulldogs, ranked No. 5 in the Daily Herald Top 20. Four of those 3s came in the 53-38 win over St. Charles North as she scored 14 points, second only to Hannah Frazier's 15.

But on this particular first-half attempt, Koch was off the mark - so far in fact her shot hit the side of the backboard.

An embarrassing moment for any basketball player, but Koch didn't let the miss keep her from doing her job. Not only did she bury those four clutch 3s in the second half to help Batavia rally from a 1-point halftime deficit to stay a game behind Geneva with an 8-1 Upstate Eight River record, she drew three charges on the defensive end.

"I always have to remind myself even if I'm a little off I can come back like that," Koch said. "I go out there to shoot and I just keep doing what I have to do."

Batavia coach Kevin Jensen has seen Koch drain 3s for Batavia for three years now on the varsity, usually doing it out of the spotlight that falls on Frazier, who entered Thursday night's game at Neuqua Valley with 1,870 career points and 966 rebounds.

"Jess has the prettiest shot," Jensen said. "Even her misses are usually right on. She's a pretty good decision-maker. If everyone is going to run her off the line she has the ability to take a dribble and float one up there. And she's usually a really good passer to Hannah."

Jensen also wasn't surprised to see Koch sacrificing her body on the defensive end taking multiple charges.

"I think we have 5 or 6 on the season and they are all hers," Jensen said. "I would say she probably understands how to play basketball better than anyone on the team. There are limitations here and there to her game but she knows stuff very well. It's good to see her have a real nice game."

It turns out Jensen can relate better than most to Koch's errant shot. Jensen did the exact same thing only on a much bigger stage when he played on Plano's 1999 state team.

"I joke with them when that happens," Jensen said. "I did that in a game downstate. I shot it right off the side, the ball came right back to me. I tell the girls, 'You know what I did?' I got the rebound and I made a layup.' It happens. I was embarrassed forever. I had college buddies, I didn't know them until I got to college, and they were like, 'You were the dude who shot it off the side of the backboard. You goofball.'"

A good laugh: Jensen's story from his high school days wasn't the only thing the Bulldogs were laughing about.

Late in the fourth quarter the officials whistled St. Charles North coach Sean Masoncup for a technical foul, and the Batavia bench didn't miss a chance to needle their coach.

"When Sean got that technical all the girls were like 'There was a game with a technical and you didn't get it,'" Jensen said.

​It's been a memorable year for Batavia, fourth in the River last year and .500 overall and now in second place with a chance to tie Geneva when the Bulldogs play at the Vikings Feb. 5.

"From last year to this year how much we've grown as a team, it's a different atmosphere," Koch said. "We all hype each other up and we all get excited and we have big dreams."

Climbing the Whips' ladder: Hampshire senior Emma Benoit became the Whip-Purs' all-time leading scorer recently. As of Thursday Benoit, a Northern Michigan recruit, had scored 1,429 career points, which surpassed Alex Dumoulin's total of 1,363. The leading all-time scorer in Whip-Purs' history is Morgan Bahe with 1,875.

Kyles set to return: Larkin junior Marleee Kyles, the Royals' leading scorer, could be back in action Friday after missing the last three games for what head coach Steve Knapp cited as, "personal reasons." Knapp said Kyles returned to practice Wednesday and might play Friday night when the Royals travel to Geneva.

Fire away: Sophomore guard Jenna Hernandez presents Rosary's Don Rasich with the opposite problem most coaches have.

Shot selection woes? Normally that means shooting too much or taking low-quality shots.

Except when it comes to Hernandez. Rasich can't get her to shoot enough.

​"She hits big shots and she doesn't shoot enough," Rasich said. "She's our most efficient shooter. When she gets in a rhythm it's a pretty sight."

Hernandez got in that rhythm in the second half of Monday's 49-43 win at Aurora Central Catholic, hitting a pair of 3-pointers and scoring 8 of her team-high 13 points.

"I told her at halftime you have to put some shots up," Rasich said. "You have to start shooting more. She hit a big one."

Hernandez is trying to take her coach's advice, posting a career-high 17-point game, though it is in her nature to get her teammates involved first.

"I'm grateful he (Rasich) gets on me and pushes me to be the best I can be," Hernandez said. "I like helping get other people open because when I get other people open it helps me focus on what I need to do better."

Hernandez (knee) and Lauren Smith (concussion), who also had 13 points against Aurora Central, recently returned from injuries. That's been a season-long story for the Royals. Rasich said he didn't think he has used the same starting lineup yet in the first 23 games.

"When we get healthy I would not want to play us late," Rasich said. "Once we get it down and get our rotation set we will be fun to watch."

Class 1-2A postseason seeds: The IHSA released seeds for the Class 1A and 2A postseason on Thursday. This is the first basketball season in years where the format is back to sub-sectionals.

In Class 2A, St. Edward is in sub-sectional B of the Byron sectional and the Green Wave has the No. 2 seed in the 12-team sub-sectional. Spring Valley Hall is the No. 1 seed, Lisle No. 3, Peru St. Bede No. 4 and Aurora Christian No. 5. Regional hosts are Seneca and Wilmington. Byron is the No. 1 seed in sub-sectional A.

In Class 1A, Harvest Christian is the No. 1 seed in sub-sectional B, where Westminster Christian (the No. 4 seed) and North Shore Country Day (No. 3) are the regional hosts. Luther North is the No. 2 seed. Elgin Academy earned the No. 10 seed in the 12-team field. Harvest Christian is the sectional host and Seton Academy is the No. 1 seed in sub-sectional A.

Pairing will be released by the IHSA Friday afternoon. Class 3-4A seeds and pairings will be released next week on the same timeline.