Fruendt sets Batavia career scoring record

Move over, Katie Issel — make room for Liza Fruendt.

During a 4-year high school girls basketball career filled with notable accomplishments at Batavia, Fruendt reached another milestone Tuesday night as she became the school’s all-time leading scorer during the Bulldogs’ 63-41 Upstate Eight Conference River Division victory over St. Charles East (9-10, 3-3) in St. Charles.

Fruendt, who finished with a game-high 30 points, tied Issel’s school mark of 1,593 points on a pull-up jumper with 1:34 left in the first half — part of her 13-point second quarter that enabled Batavia (13-5, 5-0) to grab a 37-27 halftime advantage.

After misfiring on a 3-pointer early in the second half, the 5-9 senior guard capped a drive to the hoop with a left-hand layup for career points 1,594 and 1,595 with 2:49 remaining in the third quarter.

At that point, Batavia coach Kevin Jensen called a timeout and Fruendt received congratulatory hugs and high-fives from her teammates as well as a standing ovation from the Bulldogs’ fans in attendance that included her parents and cousins.

“(Coach) Jensen said congrats — it was very nonchalant but that’s what I expected,” said Fruendt. “He joked, ‘you couldn’t have done it earlier in the game?’”

All kidding aside, Fruendt was happy her team got the win and that she could put the record behind her.

“Before the game, it wasn’t like nervousness that I felt,” said Fruendt. “It was more like where I was antsy. You want to enjoy the moment but you also kind of want it to be over. It’s a cool thing though.

“At the beginning of the season, I wasn’t thinking about it,” she added. “I didn’t even know what it (record) was to be honest. Now I think it’s special because it’s not just me doing this record, it’s my entire team. I couldn’t have done it without them.”

Fruendt, who canned five 3-pointers, shot 11-for-20 from the field and added 3 free throws before earning a well-deserved rest with 3:31 left and the Bulldogs ahead 61-38.

“I’m happy she got it (record),” Jensen said of Fruendt. “I honestly didn’t think she’d have a chance at it until the end of the season but she has just gone off this year.

“She has taken it to a whole new level this year with her leadership, her work ethic — just how hard she’s playing,” the coach added. “Nobody’s perfect out there but she’s a different player (this year). She’s very, very near a complete player in many, many ways.”

Senior Erin Bayram added 14 points and 10 rebounds while sophomore Hannah Frazier chipped in with 12 points.

“I told the girls that she’s (Fruendt) able to do that because we have some other threats,” said Jensen. “Whether they score a bunch or not, we have other threats and people have to honor that. When Hannah and Erin got it going in the second half, they (Saints) were in trouble. We’re hard to beat if those three get in double digits.”

Kyra Washington scored 11 points for the Saints, who were playing without senior leading scorer Amanda Hilton (knee injury).

“We struggled offensively,” said Saints coach Lori Drumtra. “I kind of wish I had gone to the box-and-one a little bit earlier.

“She’s hard to contain,” Drumtra said of Fruendt. “She’s too good of a player to stop. I was hoping to contain her a little more than we did. She’s a very complete player. What I noticed was her defense more. She’s all over the court and playing with a lot of energy.”

Now that she has surpassed the 1,600-point mark (1,603), Fruendt will try to chase down her older brother Nick’s 1,849 career scoring total.

“We were talking about it yesterday,” said Liza. “We’ll see if I can get there.”