Batavia has a tradition of taking a trip to Florida for a couple of games after the holidays, and senior forward Hallie Crane is happy that she has been able to participate all four seasons.
She made the most of the trip this time, scoring a career-high 30 points Saturday in a 61-56 victory over Doral Academy, the fifth-ranked team in Florida.
“I was kind of in the flow of the game,” Crane said. “I locked in and was like, ‘I’m on, my shooting is on, I’m just going to take it every time.’ The outcome was pretty good. It was a good feeling.
“I didn’t even realize I had that many points.”
After the graduation of Brooke Carlson, the program’s all-time leading scorer who’s now starring as a freshman guard for Colorado State, many wondered how Batavia (12-4) would replace that production.
Following a knee injury that wiped out her sophomore season, Crane slowly became Batavia’s second-leading scorer as last winter unfolded. In the offseason, the spotlight shined on her.
“She’s taken the transition very smoothly,” Batavia coach Kevin Jensen said of Crane. “She’s gone from being a complement to Brooke to, without saying it, she actively knows and accepts the responsibility of the weight on her shoulders of being the top player on the team.”
Crane spent a lot of time working with Carlson through the years. That has helped shape her leadership style.
“Her confidence has just grown,” Jensen said. “She’s ready for it. Even off the court as a leader, she’s so good with all the players. I don’t want to say there’s a fear, but she’s so good with all of them but all of them are a little bit scared to let her down.
“She does everything for us. They want to make sure they’re doing everything for her.”
It can be an admittedly difficult transition when trying to replace a player like Carlson. She earned her second Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Week honor at Colorado State this week.
Replacing a talent like that can be daunting.
“I knew it was going to be a bit of a struggle adapting without having our star player, but me and the girls played feeder together and we work really well together,” Crane said. “I knew once we got the season rolling, we would be good.”
Carlson was known for demanding the best of her teammates while also being a caring and attentive leader. Crane has tried to adapt that same philosophy.
“I definitely think having the compassion of being a good captain, knowing if a teammate is down, grabbing them and picking them up, is important,” Crane said. “It was the way I always was.
“With my knee injury, I had a hard time looking at the bright side. Now I can do that. That helps me in school and regular life.”
Crane has played with fellow seniors Julia Arulandu and Natalie Warner since grade school. All three have taken a step forward this season, which has helped ease the transition.
“I think a lot of people didn’t think we were going to be as good as we are, but me, Hallie and Natalie have been playing together since fifth grade,” Arulandu said. “I’ve always been excited for senior year. We knew we were going to play well.”
Crane is the only player averaging double figures in points for the Bulldogs at 14.6 to go with 5.9 rebounds and 2.3 steals, also team highs.
Arulandu is not surprised that this success has followed Crane.
“I always knew Hallie was going to become our top player,” Arulandu said. “She proved to everyone her skill last year. She does a really good job. She’s really humble.
“Teams don’t expect her to score as many points as she does.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
