There are times that Larkin’s Baylei Johnson has to pinch herself to see if the career accolades she has been racking up are actually for real.
The 6-foot-1 senior forward had already surpassed 1,000 career points.
Then on Dec. 20 at Streamwood, Johnson recorded her 1,000th career rebound, making her the rare player to reach both milestones.
“When I did it, it didn’t even feel real in the moment,” Johnson said. “Then seeing it in the newspaper and hearing it in your school announcements, it’s just crazy.”
Johnson kept adding to both totals Wednesday night in a 67-49 victory over rival Elgin that earned the Royals the Elgin City Classic championship.
Johnson put up 30 points and 15 rebounds for Larkin (11-11), winning the tournament title for the first time in her career.
“I guess they bring out the best in me,” Johnson said. “It’s nice when you get a big crowd out. Let alone winning it, winning it on your home court is crazy. It’s the best feeling in the world.”
Elgin (7-16) cut the lead to 42-37 in the third quarter before Johnson got cooking to help the Royals pull away.
She had two baskets sandwiched around Yesenia Escobar’s 3-pointer
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to quickly push the lead back out to 49-27. Johnson had nine points in the first half, but scored 10 in the third and 11 more in the fourth.“I feel she could have scored 40, but she missed a lot of layups,” Larkin coach Stephen Knapp said. “She comes out and gets rebounds. She was hitting her midrange shots, which really helped her. She hit a three and extended her game a little bit. It was good.”
Elgin coach Nick Bumbales was happy the Maroons hung around, but he knew it was only a matter of time before Johnson started to take over.
“A little too much Baylei,” Bumbales said. “It’s a bad matchup. She plays very well against us, especially here. She’s probably averaging 30 points a game against us here in her career. She was the difference.”
Izzy Vidallo led Elgin with 19 points. Izzie Castro added 12 and Jocelyn Bardesi had nine. The Maroons only lost to Larkin by six in Friday’s Upstate Eight Conference game.
“At times we looked pretty good out there,” Bumbales said. “We just couldn’t keep (Johnson) off the boards.
“Friday we were down 19 and cut it to six at the end. The kids have battled. That’s not the issue.”
Mia Carter and Gabrielle Ploche each scored 12 points for Larkin. After starting the season 1-7, the Royals have won eight of 10 to climb back to .500.
Knapp, meanwhile, is enjoying the time he has left with Johnson on the team.
Suddenly, there are only seven regular-season games and the postseason to go before Johnson’s final numbers are set in stone.
“I’m sure it has been done, but I’ve never seen it,” Knapp said of Johnson totaling 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds. “She’s going to play at the next level. She’s got two or three schools looking at her.
“This couldn’t be any sweeter for her because this is the first time she’s won it and it’s her senior year. You can’t get any better than that.”
Just where Johnson lands for college is still up in the air. She has been watching on Twitter as her contemporaries commit almost daily.
She’s waiting for her turn.
“Recruiting has been a little slow for me, but I’m looking forward to getting some more attention,” Johnson said. “It’s a lot of pressure, especially not being committed.
“I’m sure I’ll get there soon.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.