Naperville Central sophomore guard Erin Hackett already knew she would have to play a bigger role this season after eight players graduated.
Then nationally ranked sophomore Trinity Jones transferred to Bolingbrook and junior standout Callie Tumilty suffered a torn ACL at a club soccer tournament in October.
“It was definitely a big adjustment, just because I knew I had to bring the ball up,” Hackett said. “Trinity or Callie would take it up if they were in. I knew I had to step into a leader role.”
Hackett was one of the Redhawks’ most accomplished players after earning a starting spot and being named all-conference honorable mention as a freshman. But before the loss of Jones and Tumilty, Hackett was considered the team’s third-best player.
That’s not the case anymore. Hackett is the unquestioned leader, both physically and vocally, on an inexperienced team that includes three freshmen, two of whom are starting.
“It’s a little stressful sometimes,” she said. “But I like seeing that once I say something to help a teammate, you can see the difference the next play.”
Freshman guard Emerson Burke is one of many varsity rookies learning from Hackett.
“She’s being a really good leader to me,” Burke said. “She’s hyping me up, of course, and trying to make me feel more confident and more comfortable on the court.
“It’s super important for the team to have a super strong leader like Erin. It’s really helpful for the freshmen and everyone else. She’s really proven herself as a leader.”
The 5-foot-8 Hackett is Naperville Central’s primary ballhandler and leading scorer. She is averaging 15.7 points and 2.8 rebounds while shooting 33% from 3-point range and 74% from the line.
“She shoots the ball real well, handles the ball pretty well, and she wants to win,” Naperville Central coach Andy Nussbaum said. “She is really doing reasonably well with all the pressure she’s getting.”
Indeed, opponents have figured out if they can slow down Hackett, they can beat the Redhawks. Neuqua Valley used its best player, Evansville commit Kylee Norkus, to guard Hackett during a DuPage Valley Conference game on Thursday.
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Hackett responded by scoring a game-high 21 points, including five 3-pointers, to go with three steals and two assists. The visiting Wildcats were favored to win and did so, prevailing 65-47. But the game was tied at 27-27 at halftime and was competitive into the fourth quarter.
The Redhawks (2-7, 0-2) gave up 13 consecutive points to the Wildcats early in the third quarter but rallied behind Hackett, who scored seven straight points to pull them within 43-39.
“I definitely think the most important thing is calming down,” she said. “Their press rushed us a lot, and so we need to just calm down and trust our play and how we play.”
The Redhawks know they can trust Hackett to perform. She scored a career-high 30 points in their 57-54 win against Phillips in the Chicago Elite Classic at UIC on Sunday.
“She gets a little frustrated, but the rest of us are getting better too,” Nussbaum said. “We said we want three things: We want to play hard, we want to get better and still disdain losing.
“Our kids played pretty hard tonight. We played better, but we’ve still got a ways to go.”
Hackett said she believes the Redhawks will progress.
“We sometimes have our off games, but it’s so early in the season, and we have a completely new team,” she said. “So we’re really getting to know how everybody plays.
“I definitely think after winter break we will be a better team.”
Hackett, who played goalkeeper for the girls soccer team in the spring, intends to be a better player, too, and has a bright future. Her soccer coaches say she has the potential to be a Division I goalkeeper if she opts to pursue that sport, but she might eventually choose basketball over soccer.
“I kind of want to play DI college basketball,” Hackett said. “I’m not sure about soccer. If I play travel basketball, I don’t think it will allow me to fully be in soccer.”
Nussbaum was asked whether Hackett’s basketball dream is reasonable.
“She’s got 51 points in her last two games, against teams that knew she was our best threat,” Nussbaum said. “The 30 points was on a college court.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.