DGN Girls Deliver When Game is on the Line

The old basketball axiom which states that games are won and lost at the free-throw line is a no-brainer for teams and coaches at any level. They know how important it is to make free throws, especially during crunch time.

Bu thet and head coach Leslie Dehn pay more than lip service to all of the above. Every day in practice, DGN pays the price to be the best free-throw shooting squad it possibly can.

Portions of each practice session are purposely structured to simulate game conditions with regard to free-throw shooting.

"We usually try to have them shoot two (free throws) at a time, and we do that three and five times during practice," the second-year Downers North coach explains. "Before our water breaks, we do a lot of one-and-ones. They've got to make the first (free throw), and they've got to make the second one until we can get water."

Since team members want that water break, well, you get the idea. Making, or missing, free throws in practice also can determine whether the team has to do some extra running during practice—or not.

"It depends on the practice and the drills," Dehn said.

For example, she said, "One time in practice, each kid shot one (free throw) and our goal was (to make) 80 percent as a team. So if they didn't hit 80 percent or came under it, they ran. We have them run ladders where they're touching lines (on the court), and we do it in 30 seconds.

"With one-and-ones, if they don't hit their one-and-ones, then we run until someone hits two shots consecutively, so it really just depends on the drill."

Dehn always has the Trojans finish each practice shooting free throws. Why? It goes back to simulating game conditions. Fatigue sets in during the fourth quarter, yet that's normally the time when fouls increase and players go to the line. And, of course, one-and-one bonus situations often come into play during the final eight minutes.

"We like to do that (shoot free throws) at the end of practice, get them a little tired and get them to the line," Dehn said, "because that's what's going to happen at the end of the game when it's important.

"They're tired, and the conditioning incentive puts a little pressure on them on the line."

All that work and conditioning is paying off for Downers North. One would be hard-pressed to find a better free throw shooting team in the area—girls or boys—than the Trojans, who are hitting around 75 percent of their free throws.

Three of the Trojans' seven victories so far this season can directly be attributed to stepping up and knocking down free throws.

The Trojans went a perfect 12 for 12 from the charity stripe in their 39-33 triumph over Glenbard West Nov. 24. Downers North also won its first West Suburban Silver game of the year (over co-defending league champion Proviso West) because of its free throw shooting. The Trojans were 26 of 35 at the line en route to beating the Panthers, 55-44. Two days later, in a 51-46 victory over , DGN sank 22 of 26 free throws.

There's only been one game this season in which Downers North (7-5) converted just 50 percent of its free-throw attempts. And that resulted in a loss.

"They're so important," Dehn said. "You can go 12 for 13 and lose by one (point), and you're going to be kicking yourself that you missed that one free throw. It's just that part of the game that you get fouled and go to the line, and you have to be a threat when you're out there.

"The nice thing about our team is that we do have three, four, five kids that can shoot free throws, so at the end of a game, if they're trying to foul us, we have confidence that our kids can go up there and hit it."

Senior guard Katie Hunzinger is almost automatic from the line. She's hitting free throws at around a 90 percent clip this season, including a two-game stretch versus Proviso West and York where she went 20-for-20.

And Hunzinger can't stand it when she misses. Her streak of 20 in a row ended when the Trojans hosted in their next game. A look of bewilderment crossed her face after she missed her first free throw attempt.

"Yes, it came as a shock," said Hunzinger, who is applying to the U.S. Naval Academy. If accepted, she'll play basketball for the Mids.

"I just came off of shooting 20 in a row between York and Proviso, so it was just like, 'Wait. Is it possible for me to miss a free throw?' I just get so mad. Obviously somebody fouled me and I could have made two points easy, so I'll take the two shots."

Hunzinger doesn't like to run, either, if she doesn't have to.

"We have 13 girls on the team, so usually we have to go about 9 or 10 for 13; otherwise we have to run," she said. "And it's based on how many we've missed by (which determines) how much we run. So you learn to make them, or you learn to like running."

Hunzinger isn't the only Trojan who's a sharpshooter at the foul line. Senior forward Amelia Echemann had made 31 of 38 attempts going into the Falcon Holiday Classic tournament Dec. 20-23. In a 61-36 loss to host , Echemann scored 13 points—11 coming by way of the free-throw line on 11-for-12 shooting.

"This may sound silly, but I think it (free-throw shooting) is contagious," Dehn said. "When I have kids go out there and they keep making them, I think the other kids go up there with confidence."

Echemann's classmate, forward Alison Schuster, says her current free-throw percentage (around 65) is down from last year. She's not happy about it.

"Last year, my percentage was a lot higher than it is right now," Schuster said. "I didn't miss many (last year). This year, I don't know what it is. I'm a little off, so I need to get it back. I don't like missing them, either. Even when you're watching college basketball or pro basketball, when they miss them, it's like, 'I'm a high school girl and I make more free throws than you do?' It's aggravating because it's such an easy thing to get down."

Dehn says hitting a high percentage of free throws involves proper mechanics, getting into a routine and discipline—especially mental discipline.

"It's a mental thing," she said. "You're going up to the line; you're doing the same thing every single time. It's just that discipline when you're out there.

"You're up there by yourself, usually in tight game situations. We always are never happy with our free throws. There's some games I'm not happy when we're shooting 69 or 70 percent. We want it higher than that."

"There's a reason they're called free throws," adds Schuster. "When it comes down to it, every shot is important, so making free throws could win you, or lose you, a game. That's why we practice it so much."