Prospect junior Alli Linke has always played against girls who are older than her.
That was by design, although perhaps not by the rules initially.
“I started playing in preschool,” Linke said. “I would always play with the kindergartners. My mom lied about my age because I was so tall.”
The 6-foot-1 Linke is still tall, of course, even if she’s not the tallest player on the court at times, and she’s still competing against her elders, at least for this season.
Linke does it extremely well too. She was averaging 17.4 points, 11.1 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 2.9 steals and 2.6 blocks while shooting 51% from the field and 76% from the free-throw line through 22 games for the Knights (17-5), who are having one of the best seasons in program history.
Linke has started since her freshman year but has never been as dominant as she is this season.
“She puts in a lot of work in the offseason to get better, and it shows up this season with how hard she’s working on the court,” Prospect coach Matt Weber said. “She’s one of our captains. She’s a leader, does a great job of sharing the basketball. She just works really hard on both ends of the court for us.”
College recruiters and opposing coaches have noticed. The latter craft their game plans to stop, or at least limit, Linke. Her versatility defies traditional positions.
“Alli is a really good player,” Benet coach Joe Kilbride said. “She’s very solid, a fundamentally sound player with lots of skill.”
Kilbride rotated three of his tallest players — Emma Briggs, Bridget Rifenburg and Keelyn Gallagher — on Linke in an effort to stop her at the Coach Kipp Hoopsfest at Nazareth on Saturday.
Linke still managed to score 16 points to go with six rebounds, three blocks and two assists during Prospect’s 58-40 loss, and she left an impression on Briggs.
“We’ve played some really good players, and she’s definitely up there,” Briggs said. “She’s definitely great competition. She’s a perimeter shooter. Inside in the post, she was strong. She’s really well-rounded.”
When defenses focus on Linke, she’s more than willing to pass out of double-teams.
“She’s always going to bring a lot of attention inside,” Weber said. “So when the attention comes to her, she’s looking to share the ball with her teammates.”
Linke is on pace to become Prospect’s all-time leading scorer and rebounder. She has 1,124 points and 752 rebounds. Taylor Will holds the scoring record with 1,746 points, while the rebounding record of 897 is held by Marie Baker.
“It would mean a lot,” Linke said of breaking the scoring mark. “I couldn’t do it without my teammates. This year, we have a really exciting group. We can go far, so it’s been fun.”
Linke has always had fun playing basketball and volleyball — she plays outside hitter for Prospect’s girls volleyball team — but basketball is her favorite sport and the one she will pursue in college.
Basketball also runs in her family. Her parents, Jeremy and Michelle, played the sport in high school and coached at the youth level. Her sister Taylor, who is 2 years older, played for the Knights, and cousin Connor is a 6-9 forward for Bradley.
“Basketball and volleyball are both so different, and I love both,” Linke said. “Basketball — I just like it more because I feel like I can take a little bit more control in the game when we need it.”
Indeed, Linke doesn’t have a defined position.
“She’ll do a little bit of everything for us,” Weber said. “Sometimes she’s playing forward, sometimes we have her handling the ball, sometimes she’s out on the perimeter — wherever we can find ways of getting her the ball.”
Which is just the way Linke likes it.
“I like playing anywhere, wherever I think I’m going to succeed in that game, whether it’s in the post or outside,” she said. “When I started, I was a center because I was pretty tall when I was younger, but I think where I succeed the most is the 4, the power forward position. But like I said, I like playing anywhere.”
That goes for colleges too. Linke has several offers, including from Murray State and Purdue Fort Wayne, but she intends to wait to commit.
“I’m still deciding,” she said. “I’m open to anyone who’s interested right now.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
