First of all, Kira Lilly – Footballer of the Kaneland club. But the main thing she does in this sport – constantly running around the field – will serve her well in her second sport.
The Lake Forest College soccer recruit realized that as long as she did the same on the basketball court, she was doing something right for the Knights.
“If I'm just running, I think I'm doing something if I'm trying my hardest,” Lilly said.
Lilly, who does just about everything for the Knights, remained on the field Tuesday night.
The senior guard continues to emerge as a key third option on offense and tied the game with his teammate. Daniela Ridolfi for top game honors in a 53-22 non-conference win over Plano at Maple Park.
Lilly and Ridolfi each scored 13 points for Kaneland (13-5), and Callie Brown added seven points and seven rebounds. Chloe Rowe paced Plano (7-8) with eight points and seven rebounds.
Although Lilly does not play AAU basketball, she embraces her role without hesitation, especially since she only plays the sport in the winter.
“I’m trying my best because I’ve never done AAU or anything,” Lilly said. “I’m more of an effort type of player than a skill type.”
Coach Kaneland is fine with that. Brian Classon.
“She literally does everything for us,” Claesson said of Lilly. “She does everything we ask of her. Defensively, she's a coach on the floor. She plays really well for us.”
Grace Brunshin has been the Knights' leading hitter this season. Amani Mix there was a second option. Lilly's appearance in this regard was welcomed by Klasson.
“We were looking for a third scoring option behind Amani and Grace,” Klasson said of Lilly. “And it's gaining momentum.”
Coming out of the holiday break, Kaneland got off to a sluggish start Tuesday, leading only 7-6 at the end of the first quarter. Plano took advantage during those eight minutes.
“Sometimes we play like that,” Coach Plano Tristan Spivey said about the Reapers. “After the first quarter, I told the girls not to let the game slip away from us.
“When you play teams that good and they're fun to play against, that's what we do. There's a little point where we start to let it go and they start to hang their heads.”
Kaneland went on a 26-0 run in the second quarter to extend the lead to 33-6. Ridolfi scored seven straight points in that spurt, and Lilly capped the run with three straight layups.
“It took us a while in the first quarter to shake off some of the rust,” Klasson said. “I thought in the second quarter we started playing our basketball and playing defense.”
Plano suffered second-half scare as freshman point guard Le'Nya shows fell with injury. Spivey hopes it's not serious, but expects her to run out of time.
“She's really good at handling the ball for us,” Spivey said. “She breaks the press herself.”
Kaneland essentially has a new team this season, and even Claesson has been impressed with how quickly things are moving.
“Lots of different roles, I think it's happening faster than I thought,” Claesson said. “Now we're just pushing to be more consistent.”
Lilly agreed with that assessment, and it was even confirmed early Tuesday morning.
“I think we’ll put it together,” Lilly said. “The only problem is playing the full four quarters.”
One thing is for sure. No matter how things go, Lilly will be running all over the place.
“I’ll never have to replace it,” Claesson said. “She just plays so hard and never gets tired. It's great that she does.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
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