Deerfield’s Brenna Burns gets more playing time in state semifinal and makes most of it: ‘Brenna is our sparkplug’

NORMAL, Illinois — Deerfield’s Brenna Burns found herself smack-dab in the middle of the action late in the third quarter of a Class 3A state semifinal on Friday.

A reserve senior guard, Burns was thrust into the Warriors’ comeback bid against undefeated Lincoln.

“Coach put me on the floor early, so I just tried to do my job on the floor,” she said. “I was hustling and trying to get boards.

“I’m a role player. It was crazy to be on the floor, seeing the whole atmosphere and looking up at the Jumbotron. I was just trying to take it all in. It’s cool to be at state for my senior year. People dream about being down here.”

Burns, a three-year varsity player, had a career day with six points on 3-of-5 shooting and four rebounds in nearly 17 minutes.

But Deerfield couldn’t recover as Lincoln junior point guard Kloe Froebe seized the spotlight with 45 points in the Railsplitters’ 76-56 victory at Illinois State’s CEFCU Arena.

Froebe made 12 of 18 shots to set the all-class single-game scoring record for state finals and also had 15 rebounds and four assists for Lincoln (36-0), which advances to the state championship game against Nazareth on Saturday. The Warriors (29-6), whose 10-game winning streak was snapped, were slated to play Peoria in the third-place game Friday night.

Sophomore guard Aubrey Galvan hit four 3-pointers and finished with 16 points, three assists and five steals for Deerfield, which trailed 56-29 after three quarters. Sophomore guard Nikki Kerstein had 16 points, four assists and three steals, and senior guard Lexi Kerstein had 12 points, four assists and four steals.

“We were all down, but you still have to play all the way until the buzzer,” Burns said. “I love getting rebounds. It doesn’t matter what my stat line is. I just tried to help us out. We were struggling.”

The Warriors made just 7 of 26 shots from 3-point range but outscored Lincoln 27-20 in the fourth quarter.

“I definitely think we’re a team that normally hits those shots,” Lexi Kerstein said. “I know we’re in a completely different atmosphere, and we’ve never been here. No one from Deerfield, in girls or boys basketball, has ever been here. That was definitely an adjustment.

“We do have some young guards on our team. We got into our rhythm late. The fourth quarter was our best.”

Burns, who got more playing time because senior forwards Olivia and Morgan Kerndt got in foul trouble, had two offensive rebounds in the same possession late in the third quarter.

“Brenna is the one who uplifts the team,” Deerfield coach Nicole Keith said. “It doesn’t matter if she has 30 seconds in a game or eight minutes, she’s playing 100%. Her rebounding ability is undercover. No one sees her coming. She gets the inside spot.

“Brenna is our sparkplug, like she was today. I wanted to keep her in the game. I don’t think she was used to getting that much (minutes). She tried to get the team up when we were down. She gave us energy. She has this extra something special and has a high basketball IQ.”

Burns said she enjoyed playing so many minutes on the big stage but was disappointed in the outcome.

“We really wanted to win a state championship,” she said. “We played hard and better in the fourth quarter.”

Bobby Narang is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.