St. Ignatius junior forward Kaylee Clarke has a relentlessness to her game. She’s constantly seeking out contact, whether it’s boxing out or setting a screen for her teammate.
But boxing out high school girls is easier than battling with a dad who is 6-5 and played at DePaul. She said that she’s constantly practicing with her dad on rebounding. When you pair the technical skill with an indomitable spirit, you get a player like Clarke whose tenacity on the glass was critical in St. Ignatius’ 42-34 win over Fenwick.
“I see the ball and I want it,” said Clarke, who finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds. “I take pride in my rebounding and like getting it off the glass.”
Clarke was an immediate contributor for the Wolfpack on Tuesday, scoring five of the team’s 10 first-quarter points. She was imposing in the paint, showing impressive touch as a finisher. Defensively, she was active, blocking shots and serving as a rim deterrent.
“She’s such a presence, both offensively and defensively in the paint,” Doyle said. “So our kids are practicing against that every day. They’re getting bounced around in practice, so it feels okay in a game. We really preach to all our kids [about] making contact and going to get the ball, and Kaylee exemplifies that. She just has really good body control under there, and she does a good job on the glass.”
But foul trouble plagued her and forced her to miss most of the second quarter.
But Clarke’s absence didn’t signal danger for the Wolfpack; instead, senior guard Gabby Hinton, a University of Rochester commit, stepped up. Hinton feasted as a driver and showed an ability to contort her body to finish tough layups at difficult angles. She scored all 11 of her team’s points in the second quarter to give them a 21-20 halftime lead.
“I knew what the team needed,” Hinton said. “And I just saw myself as a scorer at that moment.”
For a St. Ignatius (4-2) team that will grind out wins with stout defense, the offensive contributions of Hinton and Clarke can’t go overlooked.
“She’s so important to us as a leader and as a basketball player,” coach Cara Doyle said. “She had a couple of really tough athletic finishes, and she shoots it well, so she just makes it really hard for other teams to guard. She’s a problem for other teams, and we just try and get her the ball as much as we can.”
Hinton’s ability as a scorer opens up opportunities for her teammates. When she drives and collapses the defense, she can find her open teammates. She connected with Clarke on numerous assists in the fourth quarter to help clinch the win.
“I was going crazy in the stands for [Hinton], especially her passing,” Clarke said.
In such a low-scoring game, the Wolfpack were very effective at pressuring Fenwick’s shooters. When the Friars ran DHOs, the Wolfpack guards — Hinton and senior Isabella Kerbelein — blew up the action by meeting the Friars at the mesh point and disrupting the timing. Those details are critical in throwing off an opposing team’s offensive rhythm. The Wolfpack allowed just five points in the third quarter — Fenwick didn’t score its first point until the 1:29 mark.
They allowed just one three-point make all game, and because of their attentiveness to rebounding, they often limited Fenwick to just one shot on a possession. Winning the possession game is important.
“We just communicated all the time, and our bench communicated as well, which helps us when we didn’t see stuff on the floor,” Hinton said.