PREPBASKETBALL2009The ChroniCle /kcchronicle.com Thursday, November 19, 2009 � Page 17
By KEVIN DRULEY
kdruley@kcchronicle.com
Yorkville forward Megan
Frisk rebounded a
missed free throw during a
game at Geneva last season
and raised the ball high
above her head like a devel-
opmental basketball player
would.
The international sign
for third-graders to get
moving downcourt didn't
work on the Vikings; for-
ward Lauren Wicinski
swatted the ball out of
Frisk's hands toward team-
mate Kelsey Augustine,
who recovered and sank an
easy lay-up.
Frisk had forgotten
the free-throw was the
back end of a one-and-one,
though that was the least
of the Foxes' problems.
Geneva only built steam in
the midst of an 82-14 run-
away in the early stages of
an unbeaten Western Sun
Conference season, a feat
the Vikings are primed to
duplicate in the league's
final year.
"Hopefully, we'll still be
pretty on fire," Wicinski
said. "We've heard a few
teams in the conference are
improved, but we're still
going to go out there and
expect them to test us."
While Yorkville has the
most ground to gain, teams
from around the western-
most region of the WSC
� DeKalb and Sycamore
� appear to be the biggest
potential foils to more
Vikings' perfection.
Geneva junior guard
Kat Yelle, an Ohio signee
and aspiring sportscaster,
recently waived her right
to be verbose when asked
whether any WSC team
truly challenged the
Vikings in 2008-09.
DeKalb played Geneva
to within 44-36 three days
after the Yorkville game,
but all Yelle could muster
was, "No."
Too many lopsided
scores stuck out to make an
eight-point game seem like
reason to sweat. When the
Vikings met the Barbs later
in the season and won, 62-
21, it only showed the team
its theory about the first
game was right: Geneva
hurt itself with turnovers
more than DeKalb solved
its pressure or neutralized
its backcourt.
"All of our top-of-the-
court guards were really
scrappy," Yelle said. "We
didn't slow down or let up,
and really just kept after
teams the whole game."
Two of those guards
have graduated � including
the school's all-time lead-
ing scorer � but Bartlett
transfer Ashley Santos
should help buffer the
loss of Taylor Whitley and
Emily Hinchman.
Vikings coach Gina
Nolan, who said Santos
can play point guard or at
either wing, also cultivated
her bench during blowouts
last season. Augustine and
Wicinski worked on their
post moves in the offsea-
son, leaving the WSC on
guard.
"You would think
they'd be taking a slight
step back without Taylor
Whitley and without Emily
Hinchman, but I would still
suppose going in, they're
the team to beat," Kaneland
coach Ernie Colombe said.
"It'll be interesting to see
if anyone can give them a
run in the last year of the
conference."
Sycamore returns three
starters, including 6-foot
junior forward Montia
Johnson. Building upon
an inside game that helped
her average more than 11
points a game as a sopho-
more, Johnson figures to
challenge the Geneva front-
court.
Sophomore guard Lake
Kwaza, a track standout in
the spring, is a call-up at
guard, and should at least
be an interesting opponent
against Yelle and Co. in a
footrace.
DeKalb lost Emily
Murphy and Ali Ford
but gained Indian Creek
transfer Taylor White, a
high-scoring sophomore
shooting guard. With
Hannah Davison and
Michelle Todd inside, the
Barbs have the beginnings
of a solid nucleus, but know
like the rest of the league
of Geneva's balance across
the board.
Batavia coach Tim
DeBruycker acknowledges
there are several different
ways the Vikings can win
� getting outrebounded
especially hurt his team
in two games last season �
but still knows things stem
from Geneva's pressure
defense.
"That's how we suc-
ceeded and got to state,
because we knew how each
other played and where
to be on the court," Yelle
said.
Ditto for the other
seven teams in the WSC.
Somehow, learning
Geneva's secret didn't
help.
WSC field still shooting for Geneva
WESTERN SUN CONFERENCE GIRLS BASKETBALL
Challengers out to prove it's not a 1-horse race
Sandy Bressner � sbressner@kcchronicle.com
Sara Fruendt and the Batavia girls basketball team, like everybody else in the Western Sun
Conference, will be looking to chase down Geneva, the defending conference champs, in the
league's final season.

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