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player ready...Time is a precious commodity.
Kristen Harper wanted more of it on the basketball court. Samantha Woods wanted less of it on the commuter train.
The result is that the two, teammates last year, will line up as opponents Saturday morning in the first semifinal of the Class AA girls basketball tournament at Illinois State.
“It’s pretty weird,” Harper said.
That pretty much covers it. It’s pretty weird that Harper, who helped lead Young to a 54-39 victory over Bishop McNamara in the quarterfinals Friday, and Woods, who did likewise in Bolingbrook’s 55-54 overtime escape against Buffalo Grove, have found their way back here, especially when No. 1-ranked Fenwick, their former home, did not.
Last year as sophomores, the 5-foot-8-inch Harper and the 6-3 Woods accompanied Fenwick to the Elite Eight, though in vastly different roles. Woods was a starting forward for the Friars, while Harper, who was brought up from the sophomore level for the state tournament, rode the bench in Fenwick’s quarterfinal loss to eventual champion Peoria Richwoods.
Harper fretted that her playing time might be scarce this season as well and that it might hurt her recruiting possibilities.
“I knew your junior year is important if you want to play college,” she said. “That’s the reason I left.”
Young coach Corry Irvin is glad she did, especially after Harper scored 12 points Friday, including seven of her team’s first 15.
Success didn’t come immediately for Harper. She came off the bench the first half of the season, finally starting Jan. 18 against Crane, five days after Young’s first loss. The reserve role didn’t bother her.
“Coach said to work my butt off in practice and I’d get time, so I did,” the guard said. “I started to hit a few shots, and they started to look for me.”
Against Crane she hit five three-point shots for a team-leading 15 points, the first of seven times she has been Young’s top scorer as a starter.
“Her ability to shoot threes is something we needed–someone who can knock them down,” said Irvin, whose team has lost only one other game.
Harper actually has a better shooting percentage from behind the three-point line (49) than inside it (48), but she’s trying not to let prosperity inflate her ego.
“It feels pretty good, but I don’t want to let it go to my head,” she said. “I try not to say much.”
Woods said plenty Friday by producing 13 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots against Buffalo Grove. Her departure from Fenwick, she said, wasn’t that big a change because she had lived in Bolingbrook for years.
Attending Fenwick entailed almost a one-hour trip each way via train and bus, something she said wore on her.
Another plus for Bolingbrook was that her brother goes there, and she had competed with several Raiders players on middle-school and club teams.
“There was nothing wrong with Fenwick,” Woods said. “I had a great connection with the girls and it was hard to say goodbye, but I knew Bolingbrook was the best fit for me and my family, and that that was what I had to do.”
Bolingbrook junior guard Brittney Thomas is glad Woods did.
“We’re all really thrilled to have her back,” said Thomas, who has known Woods since 6th grade and played with her almost as long. “We would still hang out together, so it’s nice to play with her.
“She’s definitely another offensive threat, and defensively she gives you someone who is nice and long and tall. She’s just an all-around good player.”
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Woods and Harper have stayed in touch since going their separate ways, and they fully appreciate the odds they beat to stage their Saturday reunion.
“That’s definitely ironic,” Woods said.
You could, in fact, call it weird.
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