Deerfield junior forwards Morgan and Olivia Kerndt quietly do their jobs on a nightly basis.
The twin sisters are part of an unheralded group of players that will be instrumental in the Warriors’ pursuit of postseason success in Class 3A.
On a team with three prolific, highlight-per-second guards — junior Lexi Kerstein and freshmen Nikki Kerstein and Aubrey Galvan — the Kerndts are helping Deerfield pile up wins in the regular season.
“For me, it’s not about the stats and how many points I score,” Morgan Kerndt said. “Me and my sister love playing defense and focus on rebounds and steals, just all the dirty work that doesn’t go on all the stats. We enjoy doing it for the team.”
On Monday night, Olivia Kerndt scored nine points and Morgan Kerndt added six in Deerfield’s 71-32 nonconference win at home against Grayslake North.
Nikki Kerstein paced the Warriors (21-4) with four 3-pointers and a game-high 22 points. Lexi Kerstein had 15 points, Galvan had eight points and senior forward Madeline Trella had 10 rebounds. Junior forward Peyton Gerdes had 20 points, nine rebounds, five blocks and two steals for Grayslake North (10-16).
Olivia Kerndt made a point to say the Warriors are bonding at the right time of the season.
“We have great chemistry, and we’re all super excited for the rest of the season,” she said. “We have really focused on team basketball to be successful. It’s been great so far.
“Morgan and I love playing together. We just play our game and try to help the team win.”
Deerfield welcomed Lexi Kerstein back to the lineup on Monday. She suffered a knee injury in a 66-41 loss to Hersey on Jan. 22, but initial concerns were allayed after an MRI revealed no significant damage. Nikki Kerstein and Galvan, who made an unofficial visit to Minnesota over the weekend, also missed time due to COVID-19 protocols.
“We have our full squad back, and thank goodness Lexi’s knee was fine,” Deerfield coach Nicole Keith said. “We were playing with one guard and five forwards for several games. The (Kersteins) were both out for two games, and we had girls missing games that were overlapped.”
Morgan Kerndt scored a career-high 22 points in a 64-18 win against Niles North on Friday, when Deerfield clinched the Central Suburban North title.
“The Kerndt sisters have stepped up big, especially during the time we had only one guard,” Keith said. “They came up big for us and carried the weight. This group is going to be fun to watch the rest of the season.”
For the Knights on Monday, Gerdes was at the center of it all. She scored each of the team’s 13 points in the first half.
But the Warriors built a 38-13 halftime lead, and no Grayslake North player other than Gerdes scored a point until the 7:07 mark of the third quarter.
“Deerfield is a great team, the way they run the floor and their offense and defense,” Gerdes said. “They’re impressive. But I’m proud we kept our heads up and kept fighting.”
Bobby Narang is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.