Fruendt's freshman year filled with more ups than downs

During her illustrious 4-year varsity high school basketball career, Liza Fruendt rewrote the record book at Batavia.

She finished with a school-record 1,921 career points.

She poured in a career-high 51 points during the Bulldogs' memorable 75-68 road win over neighboring rival Geneva last season.

She connected on a mind-numbing 185 3-point baskets in her final 2 seasons and helped the Bulldogs capture their first regional title in 24 years as a senior.

Since graduating last May, Fruendt has taken her talents southwest to Springfield, Missouri, where she is nearing the end of her freshman season at Missouri State.

The 5-foot-9 guard has experienced a little bit of everything during her rookie collegiate campaign.

"Coming in, you expect certain things and there are things you don't expect coming at all," said Fruendt. "I'd say expect the unexpected."

In her first collegiate game last November, Fruendt poured in 18 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, with 3 rebounds and 2 steals as Missouri State lost a 79-63 decision to Memphis.

She followed that up with a 14-point effort against the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and added a team-leading 11 points against nationally ranked Oklahoma State.

Fruendt earned Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week honors after becoming the first Missouri State player to score in double figures in her first 3 collegiate games since Jackie Stiles did it in 1997.

That is good company.

Stiles, the only player in NCAA Division I history to score more than 1,000 points in a single season (1,062), also is the all-time leading scorer in Division I women's basketball with 3,393 career points.

A little more than a week later, Fruendt continued her fast start when she scored a season-high 20 points on 4 of 6 shooting from 3-point range during an 82-68 loss to TCU at the Omni Classic in Boulder, Colo.

"It was a nice start," said Fruendt.

After the TCU game, Fruendt began feeling some discomfort in her left shin.

"There was one spot where I felt deep pain," said Fruendt. "The trainer looked at it and said I should get a MRI."

Tests revealed a second-degree stress fracture to her left tibia - and a fast ticket on the bench.

"It was definitely hard at first," said Fruendt. "I had really never been hurt before in my whole career."

Fruendt spent the first 2 ½ weeks on crutches before wearing a walking boot for 3 additional weeks. She sat out for 8 games, during which the Lady Bears finished with a 4-4 mark.

"It's a process," said Fruendt. "I had never gone through it before."

Admittedly, Fruendt isn't the rest-and-take-it-easy type.

"You can't do a lot at first," she said. "You have to ease back into it."

The injury has forced Fruendt to look at things from a little different perspective.

"You feel fine but you have to get back the feel of the game," she said. "The mental part is the majority of what it is. At the end of the day, this will make me a smarter, better player.

"During the off-season, I'm going to listen more to my body. My mentality has always been to go, go, go. At the collegiate level, I realize that you can't do that."

As fate would have it, Fruendt's return to the court coincided with her return to the Chicago area when Missouri State faced Loyola at the Gentile Arena.

With a flock of family, friends and former players on hand, Fruendt finished with 6 points, 2 rebounds and 2 steals in limited action (12 minutes) as the Lady Bears rolled to an 87-57 victory.

"It was really amazing," said Fruendt. "My whole family was there along with many friends, including Erin's (former high school teammate Bayram now playing at Boston University) parents. The entire Batavia girls basketball program was there along with Coach (Kevin) Jensen.

"It was a cool experience. It was fun to see friends and family and how much support that was given. Erin and I are best friends so obviously we keep in touch and I talk with (Coach) Jensen quite a bit."

Fruendt quickly learned how different college basketball is from her high school days.

"Our first six games were all on the road," said Fruendt. "All of those travel days - it was pretty hectic. Your whole weekend is consumed with basketball."

On the court, Fruendt has also made some adjustments.

"I've learned how complex the game is," she said. "In high school, I had the freedom to do things - just go play. Now it's being played at a whole different level. There are so many good players in the college game.

"There's a lot of physicality and everything is so mental - so much learning. I'm trying to fit into a program."

Fruendt, 1 of 6 freshmen, has had several shining moments since returning from her injury.

In mid-January, she had 11 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists in 16 minutes of action during Missouri State's 78-64 victory over Bradley.

In mid-February, she poured in 16 points in 20 minutes during an 83-64 win over Loyola.

On Feb. 22, Fruendt scored a career-high 21 points on 7 of 9 shooting from the field - 5 of 6 from 3-point range - in 21 minutes during the Lady Bears' 90-78 road triumph over Illinois State.

Last Saturday, Fruendt displayed her ability to score points quickly as she recorded all 18 of her points in the first half, hitting four 3-pointers, during the Lady Bears' 86-71 win at Evansville.

"I'm feeling a lot better," said Fruendt, who is currently averaging 10.3 points (3rd on the team), 2.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. She has made 74 of 193 field-goal attempts (.383), including 33 of 88 from 3-point range (.375), and 36 of 43 free throws (.837).

Coached by 3-time national champion Kellie Harper (Tennessee), Missouri State (16-13), which finished third behind Wichita State and Drake with a 13-5 conference record, opens MVC Tournament play as the No. 3 seed against Indiana State Friday night at the Family Arena in St. Charles, Mo.

Nine of the Lady Bears' 13 players are freshmen or sophomores.

"We're a very young team," said Fruendt, who is majoring in business administration. "Every day, we're trying to gel as much as we can. We've had a lot of injuries and ups and downs."

Fruendt will continue to work on her game in the off-season.

"I'll break down my game with Coach Kellie (Harper)," she said, "and I'll continue working on individual skills with Coach Stiles. She has been a great help. She went through the same things here as a freshman.

"I'm just going to try and keep learning the game."

You can reach Craig Brueske at csb4k@hotmail.com