In her second varsity season, St. Charles East’s Kathlyn Bainbridge made the big transition to being a starter. At the same time, she realized that she had to change her mindset.
Instead of being a freshman coming off the bench, the sophomore point guard now had a lot more put on her plate this season — along with a lot more responsibility.
“Coming into starting this year, it’s been trying to be a point guard, creating looks for my teammates,” Bainbridge said. “But also, if it’s my game, really taking it to the basket or shooting.
“Doing a little bit of that and playing good defense is a big part of my game.”
Bainbridge was ready from the jump Monday night against Loyola. She tracked down the opening tipoff and converted a layup mere seconds into the game, setting the tone for an early 7-0 lead.
While Bainbridge was big with nine rebounds and two steals for the Saints, the Ramblers recovered and pulled away late for a 56-34 win in the Class 4A Hoffman Estates Supersectional.
Playing through a pulled hamstring, Addie Schilb paced St. Charles East (22-12) with 13 points. Brooklyn Schilb added 11. Kaitlyn McGovern led a balanced attack for Loyola (33-2) with 12.
The Saints got an instant jolt of energy after Bainbridge’s layup, Addie Schilb’s runner on the wing and Brooklyn Schilb’s 3-pointer. Loyola didn’t score until there was 2:33 left in the first quarter.
Bainbridge confirmed that the Saints came in with an attitude of not having anything to lose and their early play exemplified that.
“Having that mentality and being up 7-0, we were really hyped,” she said. “But we also failed to stop that run and failed to continue.”
Indeed, Loyola responded to that with a 13-0 run. But Addie Schilb scored eight straight points in the second quarter as the Saints battled back, cutting the deficit to just 18-17 at halftime.
“Pulled hamstring, this whole postseason she has been our glue,” St. Charles East coach Katie Claussner said of Schilb. “Whether it’s scoring, rebounds, steals, she’s done it all.
“She’s going to be a huge loss next year.”
St. Charles East whittled the deficit down to 27-25 after a pair of free throws by Brooklyn Schilb in the third quarter. Loyola outscored the Saints 29-9 the rest of the way, however.
“I was telling the girls, the end score was not indicative of our fight for three quarters,” Claussner said. “We battled really hard for three and then our defense kind of took a step down.
“They hit their shots in the fourth quarter. I thought we battled really hard. They’re the No. 1 team in the state for a reason.”
Addie Schilb is the main loss looming for the Saints. Brooklyn Schilb is already established as a star. Next season should be Bainbridge’s turn to take the next step.
“She’s a fantastic player,” Claussner said of Bainbridge. “We’re going to need her to come back, along with Brooklyn and Stella (Trask), with more force and lock in on the little things.”
Claussner confirmed that confidence will be a big key to Bainbridge’s growth.
“I think just being confident with the ball,” Claussner said. “You’ll see if the first shot doesn’t go in, her confidence will go down a little bit. She’s a Division I point guard.
“She just has to get out of her own head a little bit.”
Bainbridge, meanwhile, is ready for that challenge.
“Sometimes, I get down on myself,” she said. “Next year, I want to become more consistent. I think I’ve had some really good games but then some real lows. I need to be more consistent.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
