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Strength elevates Antioch's Reiser

Needed to shoulder the load for her Antioch basketball team while her equally talented twin sister mended, Ashley Reiser was perfectly equipped.

Note her strong shoulders, the definition in her arms, her firm handshake.

Really, it's OK.

"I don't mind," the 5-foot-5 Reiser said with a laugh, assuring she's fine with being recognized for her physical strength. "I think it's an intimidation factor. That plays in my favor, I guess."

She's been called equally flattering things.

"When she's 'on,' " Antioch girls basketball coach Tim Borries said of his junior point guard, "it's a Picasso out there."

It takes a strong team to take Reiser.

"She's extremely difficult to guard because she's so quick off the dribble and is an excellent three-point shooter," Stevenson coach Ashley Graham said after her Patriots edged host Antioch 49-46 in the North Suburban Conference championship game, despite Reiser's 22 points (four 3-pointers), 4 steals and 3 assists. "She's a competitor, she's a warrior, and she is one tough cookie offensively, for sure."

Reiser says she is honored to be called this, too: captain of the Daily Herald Lake County All-Area girls basketball team. It's an accolade she shared last year with her twin Amy, who missed 12 games this season due to a back injury.

In her third season as a varsity starter, Ashley used her athleticism, toughness, unselfish style and feel for the game to put together another brilliant campaign. She averaged 15.2 points, 7.4 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 3.2 steals per game in leading Antioch to the NSC Prairie Division championship (12-0 record), top seed in the Class 3A St. Viator sectional, Woodstock North regional title and 26 wins.

Reiser also drained 75 3-pointers and qualified for the Three-Point Showdown at Redbird Arena in Normal this week.

And, oh, she posted 10 double-doubles. Against Lakes on Jan. 29, she nearly recorded a triple-double, tallying 13 points, 10 assists and 8 rebounds. Her season-high point total was 24, which she netted three times in a game.

"She's just tough," Borries said. "She's one of the toughest people I know. She gets hammered, she gets up, and she plays. She's strong."

Antioch needed Reiser to be Thor-like in strength when her twin went down in midseason. Over the next month, the Sequoits went from being undefeated to losing four games in less than two weeks.

"I don't think there was ever a time that I've played without (Amy) for that long," Reiser said. "I think in eighth grade she was out with a knee (injury) for maybe 4-5 games.

"She was our leading scorer, so it definitely put a lot of stress on the team and on myself," Reiser added. "But the girls did really well. For me, when I played without (Amy, initially), I lacked a little confidence. But after a couple of games, I started getting used to it. My teammates really picked me up and helped me do that."

It wasn't just Amy who went down with an injury either. Maddy Murillo, Antioch's only true post player, missed six games in a row in midseason with an achy ankle. Kelly Johnson, a three-year varsity player, sat out three games in a row due to a back injury, then missed the Sequoits' last eight contests because of a back injury.

The Sequoits had to change their scheme, as the absence of key players meant scaling back on the team's desire to push the ball. While the Sequoits were losing bodies - while continuing to win - Ashley Reiser was emerging as the team's clear-cut leader.

"She took that (leadership) role on,"Borries said. "She was more vocal when players went down. I saw her on the court helping our little freshman Piper (Foote, a late-season call-up). She would go encourage her."

An important summer awaits Reiser. She will head into her senior season with 1,111 career points but has had little interest from college coaches, although she's talked to Illinois State. Hooking up with a new AAU team, the Illinois Lady Lightning out of Lombard, should mean more eyes on her.

Amy will be playing with the same AAU team.

"We're going to be going to tournaments in Nashville and Washington, D.C., and Ohio," Ashley said. "I'm hoping that will give me a lot of exposure with college coaches."

A tough girl will embrace the opportunity to show off her strengths.

Images: Daily Herald All-Area Honorary Team Captains in Basketball

Antioch's Ashley Reiser awaits a pass in a loose-ball battle against Lakes in January. Rob Dicker for the Daily Herald
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