Batavia senior Liza Fruendt sure likes to make herself at home at the Oswego Hoops for the Troops Holiday Classic.
Last year, she set a career high with 32 points in a win over Oswego. On Monday, she toppled that mark and led the Bulldogs to a dominant 76-53 win over Proviso East.
A year and a day after the 32-point game last year, Fruendt scored 37 points before exiting the game with 5:25 left. She shot 13-for-23 from the field, including 4-of-7 from three-point range, and hit 7-of-8 free throws. She also had a solid floor game with seven rebounds, five assists and five steals.
“When the pressure comes and I can turn the corner and beat people off the dribble, that is how it comes so easily.” Fruendt said. “If they pick me up, I just dish out and we run off of that. It was just in the flow of the game.”
Two huge runs helped Batavia (9-1) blow the game open by the end of the third quarter. A 15-3 run in the first quarter featured 11 Fruendt points.
Batavia was up 39-24 at the half, but the Bulldogs opened the third quarter with a 20-2 run that pushed the lead to 33. Fruendt scored 10 points in that run and also assisted four other buckets. By the time she left the game, Fruendt had outscored Proviso (5-6) by herself and Batavia led 71-33.
“It helps when Liza goes off,” Batavia coach Kevin Jensen said. “The 32-point game against Oswego last year, she had to shoot a lot to get that. There were times when she was coming down the floor and I can’t argue with her shooting a six-footer in the lane if nobody steps up.”
Hannah Frazier (15 points) and Erin Bayram (13 points) assisted Fruendt in the win. Cinia McCray led the Pirates with 22 points.
