BATAVIA – Batavia junior girls basketball player Liza Fruendt surpassed 1,000 career points in Thursday’s 80-29 romp against Larkin.
Fruendt entered the game needing six points to reach 1,000. She finished with a game-high 25 as the Bulldogs remained in the Upstate Eight Conference River Division title hunt.
“It was definitely very special tonight,” Fruendt said. “I was actually a little nervous going into the game because I had so many people here that mean so much to me. But we got it done. It was a relief, but it also was a very special moment that I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”
Batavia (14-8, 5-3 UEC River) led, 48-5, at halftime. Hannah Frazier (13 points) and Sami Villarreal (10) joined Fruendt in double figures, while Erin Bayram (nine) and Grace Andrews (eight) just missed.
Fruendt, a third-year varsity guard and Batavia basketball legacy, credited her family, teammates and coaches for helping her reach the feat. Before the game, she joked with Bayram, a close friend, about collaborating on the basket that put Fruendt at 1,000 points.
They got their wish when Bayram dished to Fruendt for a 3-pointer in the first quarter.
“We were like, ‘ Oh, hey, maybe we can do this,’ ” Fruendt said. “And then it was a post kick-out and it actually worked.”
“It was nice to just get back out here and get back up and down the floor, kind of end a stressful week with finals and everything,” Batavia coach Kevin Jensen said. “And it’s a nice accomplishment for Liza after all the hard work she puts in. She’s basketball 365 days a year.”
BOYS SWIMMING
St. Charles North 109, Metea Valley 77: At St. Charles, North won the UEC dual behind top swims from its core of leaders. The North Stars winners included Kyle Gannon (100- and 200-yard freestyle) and David Chokran (200 individual medley and 100 breaststroke).
GIRLS BOWLING
Kaneland 2,611, IMSA 2,235: At St. Paul’s Lanes in Aurora, Angela Charhut (464 series), Morgan Wojciechowski (463) and Christie Crews (441) led a balanced effort in Kaneland’s nonconference win.
ATHLETICS
St. Francis stadium, athletic project under way: At Wheaton, St. Francis officials plan to recognize a $1 million gift to the “Bring it All Back Home” campaign at 7 tonight before the boys basketball team faces Wheaton Academy at the Spyglass Center.
Ron Kuhn and and Theresa Franklin Kuhn, Class of 1965 and 1967, respectively, donated the funds for the purpose of upgrading the school’s athletic complex and for constructing Kuhn Memorial Stadium.
The campaign is so-named because several Spartans athletics and dance teams leave campus to practice or play home games. The capital improvement entails a two-phase system, with the first phase the completion of the stadium. The stadium will include synthetic turf, an all-weather track and new bleachers that are expected to increase capacity to nearly 1,200.
The budget for the first phase is $3.6 million.
The second phase, budgeted at a cost of $1.4 million, will include a “gateway building” to house a new locker room, concessions, restrooms, ticket office and storage. The second floor will offer a practice area for the wrestling and dance teams.
The school’s goal is to have all monies raised by April and to break ground in late May.
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
Pawlikowski named new Stony Brook women’s v’ball coach: At Stony Brook, N.Y., former Batavia standout Coley Pawlikowski recenty was named women’s volleyball coach at Stony Brook.
Pawlikowski, the daughter of Geneva boys and girls coach K.C. Johnsen, was previously an assistant at Wisconsin and Northern Illinois – her college alma mater – among other stops.
She is a three-time recipient of the American Volleyball Coaches Association “Thirty Under 30” award.
