Aurora Christian’s Tori Henning plays basketball with the measured pace atypical of a sophomore.
It shouldn’t surprise.
Henning, a 5-foot-8 guard, comes from a strong pedigree. Her dad, Quinn, played on the 1990 Aurora Christian boys basketball team that placed fourth in Class A.
Henning’s breakout sophomore season continued Thursday. She needed just three quarters to score 20 points in the host Eagles’ 51-26 Northeastern Athletic win over Westminster Christian.
Paris Chaney added 14 points and Megan Hart had six for Aurora Christian (6-3, 3-0), which controlled action early. The Eagles led 18-0 after a quarter and 31-6 by halftime.
It all started with Henning, who had 15 points by halftime.
“Last year, being a freshman I was a little more tentative than I normally play,” Henning said. “We had so many seniors and I was just trying to get them the ball instead of looking to score myself.
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“It just feels more natural to score. That’s how I play.”
She’s even surpassed Aurora Christian coach Burney Wilkie’s high expectations.
Henning averaged seven points and seven rebounds as a freshman, but came into Thursday averaging 17 points this year. She scored 29 points in a game earlier this season against Newark, the most points by an Eagle player since 1998.
“Honestly this is a little bit better than I thought she’d do,” Wilkie said. “She’s a really heady kid, and she just understands the game. She’s a great shooter, too, even though she didn’t have to show it (Thursday).”
Henning also played club soccer as a kid, but quit in middle school.
That fancy footwork still comes in handy.
On her first basket of the game, Henning split two defenders and put up an off-balance shot that somehow rolled in. She later drove and dropped off a nifty look-away pass to Chaney, who banked in a runner.
Henning hit an open 3-pointer and dropped in a couple jumpers, but her first instinct is to drive. Either way, she doesn’t seem to ever be in a hurry.
“We don’t want to take just any open shots — we want to attack the basket,” Henning said. “That’s what we do best.”
Both Henning and her running mate Chaney, a 5-6 junior, indeed seem to have perfected the art of the Euro-step move. They showcased it against Westminster.
Chaney hit several shots from difficult angles by simply putting her head down and aggressively driving to the rim.
“Paris is unbelievable getting to the basket,” Wilkie said. “She just has a knack for it the way she weaves in and out. Paris and Tori both do a great job of getting to the basket. They’re really forcing the issue, and it’s to our benefit.”
Joshua Welge is a freelance writer for The Beacon-News.