Naperville North junior point guard Natalie Frempong wasn’t thinking about milestones when she scored her 1,000th career point.
Too busy trying to win a game, Frempong nonetheless became just the fourth player in program history to reach the prestigious plateau during her junior season, joining T.J. Williams, Kayla Sharples and Greta Kampschroeder.
“It’s very surprising,” Frempong said. “It means a lot to me, especially since freshman year I wasn’t really used. I didn’t play as much as all the other girls who (reached) 1,000 points junior year. But it’s really special to me and my family.”
Williams (1,796), Sharples (1,764) and Kampschroeder (1,735) rank first, second and third, respectively, on the program’s career scoring list. Frempong, who scored her 1,000th point during the Huskies’ 44-40 DuPage Valley Conference victory against DeKalb in Naperville on Jan. 24, has a chance to surpass that trio if she continues her torrid pace.
Frempong is averaging 20.8 points, 4.1 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 2.2 steals and 2.9 deflections for the Huskies (11-13), who have struggled with consistency amid some injuries and illnesses.
“We’ve faced a lot of random bumps in the road, and she’s one that we’ve always relied on to persevere and play hard,” Naperville North coach Aly Miller said. “She’s going to come out and fight for 32 minutes.
“For that reason alone, it’s hard to take her off the floor, whether shots are going in or not. Her effort is always there, something you can always count on.”
That was the case again during the Huskies’ 52-36 nonconference loss to Downers Grove North on the road on Tuesday. Frempong made 9 of 25 shots but still managed to score a game-high 24 points against the Trojans (17-8), who are allowing just 30.4 points per game. She also had five rebounds and three steals.
But the Huskies, who had won four of their previous five games, didn’t give her much help offensively. She took all but one of her team’s shots in the third quarter, including a driving layup that cut Downers Grove North’s lead to 32-25. But the Trojans responded with a 9-0 run.
Still, Frempong kept coming, scoring the Huskies’ first seven points of the fourth quarter. Her energy and enthusiasm never dipped.
“Being poised is the No. 1 thing about being a basketball player,” she said. “Today a lot of our teammates weren’t keeping our poise based on the turnovers. Our body language kind of affects how we’re going to play.
“Personally, I have to be making sure that we run into our sets, and if it’s not there, I’m going to obviously take it and create for my teammates.”
Frempong’s teammates appreciate those efforts.
“I think Natalie is too humble about herself,” Naperville North junior guard Sam Kelly said. “That career 1,000 points is huge, and as a team we’re so incredibly proud of her.
“Natalie does a really good job of motivating the team to play at a faster pace that can help us score more often. She helps push the ball up the floor a lot, and she encourages people to drive.”
Frempong’s talent can be a double-edged sword. Sometimes, opponents focus on Frempong and leave plenty of open shots for others. At other times, the Huskies stand around and watch her do her thing.
“Natalie did an amazing job of finding her shot tonight,” Kelly said. “But I think we also need to work collectively as a whole to run our offense so that we can look to score more and it doesn’t feel like the entire weight of the game is on Natalie. We do have a lot of other players out there who have the ability to score.”
But no one has done it as consistently as Frempong, who also runs cross country and track.
“We played a really decent team tonight, but I think that consistency as a team is very important,” Frempong said. “Every team has its ups and downs, and I feel like it just depends on how each team bounces back. We have a big one on Friday (at Naperville Central), so we’ve got to bounce back.”
Miller, who said Naperville North plans to make a presentation to Frempong to recognize her milestone before a home game against Plainfield Central on Saturday, knows Frempong will be ready for the rival Redhawks.
“She knows she has to step up, and she does that every game, no matter who we’re playing,” Miller said. “She goes out there and executes the best she can.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
