Naperville Central center Annabelle Kritzer says she’s done growing — in terms of height, at least.
The 6-foot-3 sophomore’s final growth spurt ended last year.
Kritzer’s confidence, however, is soaring, and the amplitude of her game continues to climb. She is meshing well with the Redhawks’ other returning starters, Erin Hackett and Tessa Williams.
“I think my confidence has grown a lot,” Kritzer said. “I’m not a freshman anymore, so I’ve gotten more comfortable in playing with these girls for the second year now.
“Erin and Tessa were there last year, so I’ve gotten used to working with them.”
Hackett, a junior guard, and Williams, a senior guard, are co-captains. But Kritzer is quickly blossoming into a force on the inside. She leads the Redhawks in scoring and rebounding.
“You can see, we can’t take her out,” Naperville Central coach Andy Nussbaum said. “She has to stay in. She’s athletic, she’s got height, she can shoot the ball. We’re real pleased with how she’s developed, and she’s only a sophomore, so she’s getting better.”
Kritzer demonstrated that during the Redhawks’ nonconference road game against unbeaten St. Charles North, which used a full-court press to generate 10 first-quarter turnovers and take an 18-4 lead.
But a funny thing happened on the way to an apparent blowout victory for the North Stars. Naperville Central adjusted to the stifling press, stiffened its defense and twice pulled within five points before losing 54-46.
“They were a really good team,” Kritzer said. “They came out aggressive, and I think we have to work on handling their pressure on the press, making the right pass.”
The Redhawks (2-5) eventually did, and Kritzer was key to those efforts.
“She is kind of our press breaker,” Nussbaum said. “We try to get the ball to her in the middle where nobody else can get it.”
Kritzer had seven points, seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks against the North Stars (6-0). That all-around production is needed in order to take some of the pressure off Hackett, who had 11 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals.
“She’s been really important to the team this season,” Williams said of Kritzer. “She is our tallest girl, obviously, so she is someone who gets all the rebounds and reaches over everybody.
“We really rely on her for that, and we’ve really relied on her for her long wingspan. It is so helpful to get steals and stuff, and her arms are so long that she can literally block everybody.”
That’s crucial for a team that lacks height aside from Kritzer, who is averaging 11.7 points and 6.6 rebounds.
“She’s got to be an inside force,” Nussbaum noted.
Kritzer showed signs of that at times against the bigger North Stars. Both teams had 24 rebounds
“Her defense was really good today,” Williams said. “She was making sure to cover everybody, and with her height, she was able to guard the tallest girls that they had.”
Offensively, Kritzer is working on being more aggressive in the paint. She made 2 of 5 shots and 3 of 4 free throws against St. Charles North.
“When she’s posting up, we always look down into the paint for her because she’s always going to be open because she’s a foot taller than everybody else,” Williams said. “I think that’s going to be really helpful.”
Kritzer’s long arms aren’t just for shooting. She can be a factor with her passing.
“I want to definitely get my teammates more open shots, especially Erin — she’s a great shooter,” Kritzer said. “And then I want to work on rebounding more because I know that can really help our team.”
The Redhawks, who were without Hackett for two games due to injury, are far from a finished product. But they’ve been sharpened by a tough early schedule.
“We’re playing good teams — Glenbard West, Kenwood, Batavia and now these guys,” Nussbaum said. “We’re not shying away from good competition. So I’m encouraged, and yet we can still get better.”
Kritzer knows it.
“We had a little bit of a rough start,” she said. “We were playing some really competitive teams, which is the only way to get better.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
