Of all the role changes Lincoln-Way Central junior Gracen Gehrke has embraced at the start of this season, one really stands out.
She used to guard the guards. Now, she guards the bigs.
Scary? Nah. Gehrke says bring it on.
“Honestly, I have started to like guarding the posts,” Gehrke said. “It’s not as much running around. And it gets me a chance for more rebounds and blocks and to draw more charges.”
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Gehrke was solid across the board Monday night as the Knights defeated host Lockport 55-47.
IUPUI recruit Azyah Newson-Cole led Lincoln-Way Central (5-1) with 25 points. Gehrke added 15 points and a team-leading seven rebounds, while Gianna Amadio contributed four points.
Veronica Bafia scored 12 points for Lockport (1-5). Kaya Osinski added 10 points and eight rebounds, while Alaina Peetz had 10 points and five rebounds.
Gehrke, a 5-foot-8 guard, is helping to fill a defensive void under the basket until 6-0 junior Lina Panos returns from an injury, hopefully in January.
She isn’t ducking the challenges.
“I just stand there and put my hands up,” Gehrke said. “I try to watch where the ball is going, so that when they put it up further than me, I can try to get a tip. If not, I just wall up.”
In Monday’s game against Lockport, six of her seven rebounds were on defense. One of them came after she blocked a shot by the 5-11 Peetz.
Lincoln-Way Central coach Dave Campanile loves the new look.
“Gracen has been a person who in the first part of her career has been the flashy 3-point shooter,” Campanile said. “As she has grown into a junior and her abilities to play have grown, we’re asking her to do other things.
“We’re asking her to defend. We’re asking her to guard a big. Especially with Lina Panos out, that has been the big theme. With five guards, we’re going to create some mismatches, but we’ll be involved in the mismatches.”
Through six games, Gehrke is averaging 10.8 points and 4.8 rebounds. She has also taken three charges.
Her other big games were 18 points and six rebounds against Moline and 16 points and eight rebounds against Joliet Catholic.
Last season, Gehrke came off the bench for six games to fill in while Newson-Cole was out with an injury.
“That really helped boost my confidence,” Gehrke said. “I started learning my place. Now, as a starter, I’m taking more shots than ever.
“And guarding some of the best players, if I’m not making my shots, I can always make a difference on defense. The defensive rebounds and stops count.”
As a secondary double-figure threat, Gehrke has Newson-Cole feeling more productive than ever.
“She just opens the floor for me,” Newson-Cole said. “I would say she’s a better shooter than me. When I’m attacking the lanes and get the defense going all into me, I know Gracen is going to knock the shot down nine times out of 10.
“I feel she opens the lane more and more because the defenders know they can’t help off of her.”
And the rest of her skills?
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“She came in from the start of the season wanting to impact the team,” Newson-Cole said. “Even with just passing the ball and finding the open man, I can tell that she’s been working on her game. On her AAU team, she played a big role.
“Her mindset has been a ‘go get her’ mentality. I love Gracen. Her hustle and willingness to guard people who are four or five inches taller than her and still outrebound them is amazing. She knows her place on the team.”