MUNDELEIN — Carmel forward Emma Rappe welcomes the tough, physical play on the inside.
But she’s also fine with taking her game to the outside. The versatile senior averages almost 15 points per contest.
“She’s a tough matchup for teams,” Carmel coach Kelly Perz said. “If it’s somebody taller than her in the post, Emma is usually quicker than that girl. And with the smaller players, she can post them up.”
Against St. Viator on Saturday, Rappe had 11 points, nine rebounds and three steals. Her efforts weren’t enough though, as the Lions (3-4, 1-0 East Suburban Catholic) defeated the Corsairs (1-6, 0-1) 39-26. St. Viator started fast with a 9-0 lead and Carmel could get no closer than five points for the remainder of the contest.
Four times in the third quarter, Carmel cut its double-digit deficit to six points.
“We were speeding them up a little bit and getting turnovers from our pressure,” Perz said. “But we couldn’t convert enough on the offensive end.”
St. Viator was led by Madison McAteer with 11 points, while Myia Clark tossed in eight. Besides Rappe, Carmel’s next highest scorer was Alexa Amato with three points.
Rappe showed her aggressiveness on the court during minute-long stretch of play. First she took a charge. Then, on the ensuing Carmel possession, Rappe pulled down an offensive rebound in the midst of two St. Viator front-line players and put the ball back in the basket. Rappe also stole the ball near midcourt and drove in for a layup.
If Rappe had her druthers, she would spend most of her time underneath the basket fighting for position.
“I like the more physical play on the inside,” Rappe said. “I just like to get in there and go at it. It’s more fun that way.”
Rappe has been on the varsity for three years.
“She’s improved her outside shooting and her post moves,” Perz said. “Her defense has gotten better.”
Although not the most vocal person, Rappe leads by example as a team captain.
“Emma is a good teammate,” senior guard Sam Melillo said. “She’s always positive and picks us up. When she gets going, it makes us want to play harder.”
As for the future, Rape knows what she wants.
“I really have a passion for basketball,” Rappe said. “I want to keep playing in college.”
