Tori Henning’s pregame routine reflects her game.
For the last few minutes, the 5-foot-8 sophomore guard has two Aurora Christian teammates stand in front of the basket. Henning then practices her favorite play — the Euro-step move — around them.
“I used to try to take it to the hoop strong and I got lots of charges,” Henning said. “I practice stepping around them to get used to the angle of layups. I take some weird angles.”
With Henning driving the way, the Eagles are ahead of schedule. Despite playing just one senior, Aurora Christian (12-4) has won 10 of its last 11 games.
Henning, who averaged seven points as a freshman, has had a breakout season. She’s averaging 16.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.5 steals and three assists. Henning scored 29 points in a game earlier this season against Newark, the most by an Eagles’ player since 1998.
“If you would have told me in November that we would be 12-4 I would have laughed at you,” Aurora Christian coach Burney Wilkie said. “We graduated six seniors. Tori’s really been able to shine.”
Henning’s shooting has improved markedly. She was just 7-for-49 from 3-point range as a freshman, but has converted at 40 percent (24-for-60) this season.
Shooting isn’t her signature, though. As a team, Aurora Christian has cut its 3-point attempts in half this season in fitting the strengths of Henning and teammate Paris Chaney.
“With Tori’s ability to get to the basket, teams have to play off of her,” Wilkie said. “We’ve preached since Day 1 to this group to attack the basket.”
Wilkie is preaching to the choir to his two best players.
Henning and Chaney constantly practice the Euro-step move. Chaney taught her the move, and she’s run with it.
“It’s something special to her game,” Wilkie said.
Scoring comes naturally to Henning, but she deferred as a freshman out of respect to Aurora Christian’s seniors. She also wasn’t completely healthy.
Henning has been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, developing chronic pain in her elbows and knees as a by-product of having mononucleosis in the eighth grade.
The rheumatoid arthritis flares up particularly in cold weather. She missed a few games while she had a knee drained last year. She ices her knees and takes lots of vitamins.
“It hasn’t been painfully bad this year,” Henning said.
Henning used to play soccer. She’s hopeful Aurora Christian adds the sport. But basketball is in her blood.
Henning’s dad, Quinn, played on the Aurora Christian boys basketball team that placed fourth in Class A in 1990. An aunt played collegiately at MidAmerica Nazarene.
Wilkie knew he had a talented player coming through the pipeline.
Henning has attended Aurora Christian since the second grade. By sixth grade, Wilkie said she was the best player on an eighth-grade team.
“My assistant coach and I laughed two years ago, when Kirsten Madsen tore her ACL, Tori could have probably helped us and she was in eighth grade,” Wilkie said. “It’s not too often a freshman starts from Day 1.”
With all but three girls returning next year, and with Henning for two more, it’s easy to get caught looking ahead.
Aurora Christian’s 20-win sectional finalist raised the bar two years ago. These Eagles, who dropped down to 1A this year, could soar beyond that.
“Tori has the potential to go down as the best player we’ve ever had, and we’ve had some incredible talent the last few years,” Wilkie said. “This team has a chance to do some incredible things.”
Joshua Welge is a freelance writer for The Beacon-News.
