St. Xavier’s Veronica Bafia leads her team in scoring. But the sophomore forward from Lockport also leads the Cougars in another category that doesn’t show up on the stat sheet.
Coach Sidney Lovitsch gets a big kick out of that, too.
“She’s the loudest clapper of all the girls,” Lovitsch said. “During practice, when I’m turned around talking to the coaching staff and I hear that clapping for her teammates, I’m like, ‘That’s Veronica.’
“I turn around and it’s her. It’s ear-piercing. It’s actually very funny.”
There has been a lot of clapping lately for the 5-foot-9 Bafia. She tallied 16 points, four rebounds, three blocked shots and two steals in a 69-40 nonconference win over Aquinas at the Shannon Center in Chicago.
West Aurora graduate Brooklynn Johnson led St. Xavier (8-3) with 19 points and seven rebounds. Alaina Peetz, a freshman forward from Lockport who’s also on the softball roster, had 12 rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks against Aquinas (5-5).
The win served as a tune-up for Saturday’s huge CCAC showdown in Chicago against St. Francis (11-0, 6-0), which is ranked No. 17 in the country.
Bafia, meanwhile, is having a breakout season for the Cougars. After averaging 8.4 points as a freshman, she scored 31 points against Cleary in a 71-59 season-opening win.
“That felt good,” she said. It felt natural the way the game was moving. The opportunities were there.”
While maintaining a 31-point pace is basically beyond the realm, Bafia is still leading the Cougars with a 15.3 average.
“I’m definitely more confident this year than I was last year,” she said. “I tried to get in the gym more and shoot more and worked on being an all-around player.”
“We worked hard with her and she also did a lot on her own,” Lovitsch said. “She worked on getting faster and stronger and having that mentality of taking that next step.”
That next step includes some leadership skills as well.
Assistant coach John Natanek, who’s in his second stint with the Cougars, worked with St. Xavier in 1999-2000 when the program got started under head coach Bob Hallberg.
Natanek confirmed this is the youngest starting five the Cougars have had since that inaugural season with two freshmen, two sophomores and a senior getting the bulk of those starts.
That makes Bafia’s leadership — and her loud clapping — important.
“She’s a lot more vocal and she is taking that step that we encouraged her to take,” Lovitsch said of Bafia. “That’s a testament to what she’s trying to do here and how much she cares about this program and these players.”
Although they are a year apart, Peetz and Bafia played together quite a bit growing up.
“Veronica is super athletic and can go to the basket, and on defense, you can use her in almost any spot,” Peetz said. “She plays the same way as she did in high school — only better.”
Last season, the Cougars finished 18-12 but lost to Indiana Northwest in the CCAC Tournament quarterfinals and figured their season was over.
In a surprise move, the NAIA committee picked five teams from the conference. The Cougars made it to the national opening round, losing to 73-69 in overtime to Marian Indiana.
This winter, the Cougars are seeking a return trip.
“We’re much smaller than we were last year,” Bafia said. “But that gives us an advantage because we’re running the floor a lot more than we did and it’s been good so far.
“If we keep playing like we’re playing and progressing more and more, I feel like it’s going to be a good rest of the season.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
