Heading into the season, senior guard Kaidyn King had a pretty simple set of instructions from Batavia coach Kevin Jensen.
Regardless if it meant scoring 20 points or even zero points, Jensen knew that he wanted King to play a certain way as she entertained a larger role for the Bulldogs.
“I told her, ‘Play free,’” Jensen said. “There are so many ways she impacts the game. It’s convenient when she’s knocking down some shots, but she doesn’t have to carry that weight.
“She had a 20-point game early in the season against Wheaton North. She had games where she had a ton of assists and basically destroyed somebody else’s ability to bring the ball up the court.”
The Illinois Wesleyan recruit had one of those aggressive offensive nights Thursday in a 48-39 loss to Glenbard West in the Class 4A St. Charles East Sectional championship game.
King sparked a fast start and finished with a team-high 18 points for Batavia (24-10). Hallie Crane added nine points. Makenna Yeager led all scorers with 22 points for Glenbard West (23-12).
Hitting a pair of 3-pointers, King scored 11 of Batavia’s first 15 points Thursday. Her aggressiveness kept the Bulldogs afloat even when many of the their shots weren’t falling.
“Whenever I’m aggressive and fired up, I’m playing good,” King said. “I don’t think the team was guarding me full on, so I took advantage of that.
“There will be some games where they’re guarding me hard and Hallie will be more open.”
But on Thursday night, with the Bulldogs making only 4 of 19 shots from 3-point range, King recognized what she needed to do to keep her team in the game.
“I think driving when our shooting isn’t there is critical,” King said. “The other thing is our defensive stops.”
Batavia used King’s early effort to trail only 25-21 at halftime. In the third quarter, the Bulldogs cut the deficit to 30-27 before Glenbard West went on an 11-0 run to take control.
“I think it was very important because our shots weren’t going in,” Crane said of King’s aggressiveness. “It was important she had that full head of steam and was able to get to the rim.
“It also created a lot of confidence within us to keep going and keep pushing.”
Jensen knows Batavia has relied heavily on the 3-pointer this winter, but King brings a different skill set to the table.
“When we’re at our best we’re turning the ball over and getting drives,” Jensen said. “She’s the one player who can beat somebody off the dribble consistently.
“When she’s doing that and either kicking out or finishing, we tend to be at our best.”
Defensively, the Bulldogs did all they could do in the fourth quarter in trying to mount a comeback. Even playing with four fouls, King spearheaded a defensive effort that forced six turnovers.
Batavia missed its first seven 3-pointers in the fourth as Glenbard West pushed the lead to 11.
“We didn’t get as many as we wanted, but it really counts on the offensive end the more we’re getting stops,” King said. “We played them as more of a driving team based on our scouting.
“They came out and hit a bunch of shots we didn’t expect, and that’s where the momentum changed. The film lied to us.”
Despite Thursday’s outcome, Batavia defied the odds this season after graduating all-time leading scorer Brooke Carlson. Still, the Bulldogs managed to win a fourth straight regional title.
“We had something to prove and people counted us out,” King said. “That gave us fire the whole season. I think if people believed we would have it easy we wouldn’t have had as good a season.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
