1996-1997 KANELAND GIRLS BASKETBALL

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1995-6 season: 5-24 overall and 0-8 in Suburban Prairie Conference - White.

1996-7 strengths: Depth and speed.

1996-7 Weaknesses: Post defense and outside shooting.

Coach Betty Anderson (third year) says: "We have a balanced attack, both inside and out. We hope our team unity will get us in position to play well in the Class A Regional and hopefully beyond."

Melissa Gehrke (left) and Malinda (Mo) Hankes (right) help Stephanie Claesson practice her shooting during a practice session at the Elburn & Countryside Community Center. Both Melissa and Malinda coach 3rd and 4th grade girls while playing varsity ball.

Varsity Lady Knights Basketball

Kaneland 35 Riverside-Brookfield 38

In Kaneland's first game of the season, Riverside-Brookfield became a bad host as they beat the Lady Knights 38-35. Kaneland out scored RB by 5 points in the last quarter, but came up just a little short. Deb Lang lead all scorers with 12 points, with April App and Alicia Brown chipping in 7 and 6 points respectively. Malinda Hankes pulled down 9 rebounds.

The Sophomores won their game 50-21.

Kaneland 35 Hampshire 61

In the first round of the Geneva Invitational, Hampshire took an early 42-15 half time lead and coasted to a 61-35 victory, over the younger Lady Knights. Kaneland out scored Hampshire 10 to 5 in the third quarter, and 20-19 for the second half. Malinda Hankes and Deb Lang lead Kaneland with 8 points each, with Mary Richardson adding 6 more. For the second game in a row Hankes grabbed 9 rebounds.

Kaneland 42 Rosary 53

For the first time this season the Lady Knights didn't score 35 points, losing to the Rosary Royals 53-42, in the second round of the Geneva Invitational. The game was tied going into the last quarter at 34, but the Royals out scored the Knights 19-8. Deb Lang lead Kaneland with a season high of 18, while Alicia Brown with 3 assists had 6 points and Melissa Gehrke and Malinda Hankes has 5 points each. For the third game in a row Hankes lead the Knights in rebounding with 10.

Kaneland 53 Jacobs 36

In the third round of the Geneva Invitational, Kaneland won their first game of the year over Jacobs 53-36. The Knights jumped off to an quick halftime lead of 32-13 and coasted the rest of the way for the easy win.

Deb Lang lead all scorers with 16 points, with help from Jamie Zylinski and Melissa Gehrke with 8 each. Malinda Hankes pulled down 9 boards. Lang also helped with 7 rebounds and 4 assist.

Earlier in the day the Sophomore Lady Nights took on Geneva in the first round of the Kaneland Sophomore Tournament and in a real barn burner beat the Vikings 24-22, coming from behind to overtake the Vikings in the last minute of play.

Kaneland 41 Lisle 28

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Kaneland finished the Genveva Invitational 2-2 earning 5th place, with a win over Lisle 41-28. Kaneland used a slowed down offense and fell behind 9-4 at the end of the first quarter. But by half they had gained the momentum to lead 18-17. The Lady Knights then went on to out score Lisle 23-11 in the second half to bring their season's record to 2-3.

Debbie Lang, who earned a spot on the all-tournament team, led all scorers with 12 points and 9 rebounds. Anna VanNaarden added 11 points plus 4 steals and Malinda Hanks brought down 9 boards.

Earlier in the day the sophomore Lady Knights lost their first game of the year, by a slick Hampshire team 42-22. However, they did finish second in the Kaneland Sophomore Tournament.

Kaneland 32 Glenbard South 50

After one quarter it was anybody's game as Kaneland trailed 10-9, but Glenbard South controlled the second quarter and by half time the Knights where down 31-17. Glenbard coasted in the second half as Kaneland couldn't cut into the lead for a 50-32 victory.

Deb Lang and Anna VanNaarden lead the scoring with 7 each, while Karen Pool, Jamie Zylinski, and Malinda Hankes each had 5 rebounds.

Kaneland 36 Sycamore 41

Melissa Gehreke pulled down six rebounds, had four steals, and collected seven points for the Knights. Teammates Jamie Zylinski chipped in 8 points, Alicia Brown had seven rebounds, and Deb Lang scored 7 with 3 bounds. However, in the end Sycamore proved to be to much for the Knights winning 41-36, bringing Kaneland's record to 2-5.

Kaneland 34 Yorkville 47

Yorkville formulated the outcome of the game with an 11-4 first quarter blitz. Kaneland never recovered, trailing 27-18 at halftime and getting outscored 20-16 in the second half. The lost dropped Kaneland to 0-2 in the conference.

Deb Lang lead all scores with 13 points and Chrissy Fitzpatrick added 8 more.

Kaneland 48 Westmont 37

The Lady Knights put to use what Yorkville had taught them the night before - something about scoring early - as they sprang to a 11-4 lead over visiting Westmont. The Knights held their cushion, leading 21-16 in the first half and outscoring Westmont 27-21 in the second half.

Deb Lang lead the scoring for the second night in a row for the Knights with 12 points. Melissa Gehrke and Anna VanNaarden added to the attack with 8 points each. Chrissy Fitzpatrick had seven rebounds.

Kaneland 27 Burlington Central 62

Burlington Central's stifling one-on-one defense, shut down Deb Lang and her teammates as Lang was held to just one field goal in a tough loss 62-27. Central came on the court with a personal vendetta. With two recent, unexpected losses, the Rockets set out to show their coach, fans and themselves their true colors. There tight defense shocked the Knights into seven turnovers in the first 4-plus minutes of play.

The Knights went 0-6 shooting in the second quarter and Burlington had a 37-6 half time led.

Kaneland 40 Driscoll 33

The Lady Knights defeated Driscoll 40-33, in first game of the Lisle Invitational. Malinda Hankes lead the assault with 13 points while pulling down six rebounds. Chrissy Fitzpatrick had seven rebounds for the 4-7 Knights.

Kaneland scored 14 points in the first quarter and for the balance of the game used the 14-7 point cushion to capture the win.

Kaneland 39 Coal City 51

At the Lisle Invitational, Coal City handed Kaneland a 12-point defeat. Deb Lang scored 11 points and grabbed five rebounds for the Knights and April App added nine more points.

Coal City used a strong 16-4 second quarter, and 12-6 third quarter to overcome the Knights. With a comfortable 38-18 lead going into the fourth quarter, Coal City was able to withstand a Kaneland 21-point fourth-quarter performance.

The Sophomores continued their strong play with 33-29 triumph after building a 20-8 first-half lead.

Kaneland 43 Lisle 34

The Knights upended host Lisle behind an 11-point performance by Deb Lang to capture second place at the Lisle Invitational Tournament. Chrissy Fitzpatrick pulled in nine rebounds while teammates Malinda Hankes and Jamie Zylinski had eight each. Kaneland improved its record to 5-9. The Sophomores won the tournament with a 29-25 victory.

Deb Lang Makes All-Tournament team

Deb Lang scored eleven points in each of the final two games of the Lisle Invitational holiday tournament to earn a berth on the Lisle All-Tournament team. The selection was voted on by the participating coaches.

Kaneland 45 Oswego 67

Oswego rocketed to a 23-11 first-quarter lead and extended it to 42-19 at the half to to beat the Kaneland Lady Knights 67-45. No Knights scored in double figures as Deb Lang and Jamie Zylinski had 8 points. Mary Richardson, Heide Striedl, and Malinda Hankes chipped in 6 more each.

Kaneland 22 Batavia 56

Batavia proved to be to much for the Lady Knights as the Bulldogs opened up a 14-6 first quarter lead and rattled off another 26 in the second to Kanland's 4. Trailing 40-10 a half the Knights gained a moral victory by playing the Bulldogs nealy even in the second half.

Deb Lang and Anna VanNaarden had 6 each for the Knights, with noone else getting more than 3.

Kaneland 52 Geneva 43

The Lady Knights came out with a different look and went on to defeat Geneva 52-43. It was the first conference win since the switch to the SPC two year ago. Last year, the girls went 0-8 in the conference's inaugural season.

Kaneland broke free from its conservative control game and shifted into a fast paced "put 'em up" game that resulted in seven players scoring four points or more. "we worked together as a team and our shots were going in," commented Deb Lang.

"Everyone was excited about this game," said Mary Richardson. "We wanted to be aggressive."

Deb Lang lead all scorers with 16, Mary Richardson had 8, Melissa Gehrke and Chrissy Fitzpatrick seven each, Jamie Zylinski with 5, Alicia Brown and Ann VanNaarden with 4 each.

The Sophomores remained undefeated in the conference at 4-0 with a dominating 37-19 win. Addie Sauber scored 9 in a 14-0 spurt midway through the first half to put away the game.

Kaneland 48 Morris 64

Kaneland scored 24 points in each half against Morris, but the Redskins scored 44 in the first half alone to breeze to a 64-48 win. Morris maintained a 20-point lead in the second half until Melissa Gehrke drilled a three to cut the final deficit to 16. Deb Lang scored 17 and Mary Richardson 11.

Kaneland 40 Geneva 59

Kaneland scored just 17 points in the first half as Geneva waltzed to a 59-40 victory. The second half remained Geneva's, as they outscored Kaneland 28-23. Nobody scored in double figures for the Knights, with Chrissy Fitzpatrick leading the team with 7. The lose left the Knights with a 6-12 record for the season (1-4 in the conference).

The sophomore team suffered their first conference loss of the season falling to Geneva 38-28. The sophomore record is 11-5 and 4-1 in the conference.

Kaneland 50 Sycamore 42

Kaneland took a near 3 point lead into the second quarter and held on to it for a 20-17 halftime lead. The Lady Knights increased their lead to 8 after 3 periods and held on in a high scoring forth quarter of 16 points for each team for a 50-42 win over Sycamore.

Malinda Hankes pulled down a giant 15 rebounds. In addition she had 10 points and 3 steals. Anna VanNaarden added 9 points and Deb Lang and Mary Richardson had 7 each.

The sophomores jumped off to a 12-0 first quarter lead, then increased it to 30-6 at halftime, to coast to a 48-35 victory over Sycamore.

Kaneland 45 Morris 73

After losing to Morris at Kaneland 10 days earlier by 16, the Knights took it on chin again - this time by 28 while visiting Morris. Morris jumped off to quick lead 21-10 by the end of first quarter. By half time Morris had a commanding 43 to 19 led and never looked back.

Deb Lang lead the Knights scoring with 12 points while Alicia Brown netted 11. Morris also beat our sophomores 50-25.

Kaneland 25 Marengo 45

Marengo outscored the Knights 29-9 in the first half, but the Knights played much better in the second half, scoring 16 while holding Marengo to 16. The Knights had a tough night finding the hole with only three players scoring more than 3 points. Deb Lang had 8 points, while Karen Pool and Mary Richardson netted 5 each. Richardson also had 4 steals and Malinda Hankes pulled down 7 bounds.

The Sophomores took their second loss in a row, losing 55-36.

Kaneland 41 St. Francis 46

The Stacy Lettow's 12 points and Alicia Brown's 10 were not enough for Kaneland, as they lost by 5 at home in non-conference action to Wheaton-St. Francis 46-41.

In their normal mode-of-operandi, the Lady Knights fell behind early and by the end of the first quarter trailed 9-4. But the Knights came roaring back scoring 15 points in the second quarter to take a slim 19-18 halftime lead. However St. Francis proved to much for the Knights in the forth quarter scoring 15 to Kaneland's 8 to take home the victory.

Anna VanNaarden pulled down 8 rebounds while Deb Lang grabbed 6 more. The loss brought the Lady Knights' season record to 7-15. The Sophomores also lost 50-33.

Kaneland 36 Hinckley Big Rock 72

In the first half, this game had all the makings of a thriller. Kaneland jumped out to a 12-10 first quarter lead and by half Hinckley Big Rock had managed to squeek out a small 26-22 advantage. However, in the second half the dam broke - as HBR outscored the Knights 46-14, to walk away with a one side 72-36 victory .

Kaneland was lead by Malinda Hankes with 8 points with help from Deb Lang and Anna VanNaarden with 6 each. The Sophomores where able to give Kaneland a split for the eveing with a 32-23 win.

Kaneland 46 Huntley 50

Kaneland fell behind early again, and trailed Huntley by 4 at the end of the first quarter and they found themselves behind by that same 4 when the game ended 50-46. Despite a monster night by Malinda Hankes with 12 boards and 16 points, the rest of the Lady Knights couldn't overcome a stubborn Huntley team.

In addition to Hankes, Deb Lang had 8 points and Mary Richardson, Stacy Lettow, and Melissa Gehrke contributed 6 each. The Sophomores beat Huntley going away 59-17.

Kaneland 24 Yorkville 42

In Kaneland's last regular season girls basketball game, the Knights where only able to score two points in each of the middle periods to give the Foxes of Yorkville a easy 42-24 victory. The Knights found themselves down 32-12 entering the forth quarter, but did manage to outscore the Foxes by 2 in the final stanza.

Deb Lang lead the low scoring affair for the Knights with 9 points, while Malinda Hankes added 6 more.

The Lady Knights finished the regular season in a bit of a tailspin ending up 7-18 overall, and 2-6 in the conference. The Sophomores on the other hand finished a nice season at 14-9 and 5-3 in the conference. The Freshman ended up 8-11 overall and 4-4 in the conference.

Kaneland 38 Genoa-Kingston 28

The Lady Knights played consistent B-ball scoring 10, 8, 9, and 11 points in each respective quarter to beat Genoa-Kingston 38-28 in the first game of the IHSA class A regionals held at Kirkland.

Deb Lang lead the low scoring affair with 13 points, with Anna VanNaarden adding 8 and Stacy Lettow with 6. Malinda Hankes pulled down 10 boards.

Kaneland 25 Hampshire 84

The Lady Knights proved to be no match for powerhouse Hampshire and ended their season taking it on the chin 84-25 in the second round of the Hiawatha regionals. By half time there was little doubt in this one as Hampshire had a commanding 43-12 lead. All Night the Knights had trouble scoring, never getting more than 7 points in any one quarter.

Leading scores for the Knights were Deb Lang with 6, Melissa Gehrke with 5, and Malinda Hankes and Stacy Lettow with 4 each. The Lady Knights season ended at 8-19.

Front row left to right: Melissa Gehrke, Mary Richardson (most assist), Megan deRaismes (The Lady Knights award), Heide Striedl and Anna VanNaarden (co-captain). Middle left to right: Malinda Hankes (most assists and co-captain) and April App. Back: Debbie Lang (Best Offensive Player Award), Jamie Zylinski, Karen Pool and Alicia Brown (most improved player award). Best Defensive player Award went to Christy Fitzpatrick.

1996-7 Kaneland Girls Basketball Rosters

Photos courtesy of The Elburn Herald

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