The heated rivalry games in the MIC can’t compare to the intensity of the one-on-one games that get played at the Rake residence.
"We definitely get really heated sometimes," Center Grove junior Emily Rake said of the battles with her twin sister Claire. "Our parents have to kind of watch it and be ready, because there have been fists sometimes."
Most of the time, the twins are on the same side — and they’ve both been important assets for the Trojans, who sport a 16-2 record and ride a 15-game winning streak into Tuesday night’s game against Perry Meridian.
As similar as they appear, each of the sisters contributes to the team in a very different way. Claire is more of an offensive-minded player, while Emily takes pride in her defense and doing the small things.
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"They both bring a ton to the table; it’s just in different aspects," Center Grove coach Kevin Stuckmeyer said. "Without either of them, our team would have a major void. It’s hard for people to see that, because they see one side or the other, but both of them bring so much."
Claire has emerged as a 3-point shooting option off the bench. All but five of her 32 made field goals this season have come from behind the arc, giving the Trojans another viable perimeter threat to keep teams from focusing too much attention on senior stars Ella Thompson and Emma Utterback.
When Martinsville tried to build a game plan around stopping Thompson, Claire knocked down 4 of 5 3-point attempts in a 54-38 win. She made three more shots from downtown against Mooresville in the championship game of the Columbus North Invitational.
"She stretches the floor," Stuckmeyer said of Claire. "She just really puts pressure on the defense with her shooting ability, her ability to read screens."
Emily Rake doesn’t light up the stat sheet in the same way that her sister can, but she provides enough intangible assets that she’s held down a place in the starting lineup since early November.
Stuckmeyer is impressed by her reliability, among other things, and cites that as part of why he has kept her in the starting five.
"She does a tremendous job of setting the tone," the coach explained, "and she’s super consistent, so you know what you’re going to get out of her and you can trust her. She’s willing to accept her role and understand that in our program, you don’t have to be seen in the box score."
Emily says she’s always been fine with not being a headliner.
"I’m okay with not scoring a lot, because I like doing those dirty things and the things people don’t notice," she said. "To me, that’s what makes the game fun."
Claire Rake says that she and her sister try to elevate one another in different aspects of their games; she might offer Emily some shooting assistance in exchange for some tips on boxing out or fighting through screens.
But while they’re ultimately on the same side and working together most of the time, that competitive spirit is still very much there when they’re pitted against one another.
"We always guard each other in practice, and we just want to win," Claire said. "We don’t want to lose the drill, so it can get a little chippy."
Not even playing for the same team can squash a good old-fashioned sibling rivalry.
