Sophomore Erica Buening has already established herself as a defensive stopper for Franklin.
Daily Journal file photos
Daily Journal file photo
Franklin girls basketball has dynastic visions for itself, and the comparisons to another recent dynasty — the Golden State Warriors of 2017 and 2018 — are somewhat apt.
Kuryn Brunson, though not 7 feet tall, is Kevin Durant, the go-to offensive force and MVP (or Miss Basketball in this case) candidate. Scarlett Kimbrell and Lauren Klem are the Splash Sisters, displaying the same type of lethal 3-point marksmanship that Golden State got from Steph Curry and Klay Thompson.
In both cases, the three headliners receive the lion’s share of the attention and accolades. But the Warriors would never have been the Warriors without the indispensable all-around contributions of Draymond Green, a Swiss Army knife capable of defending all five positions and filling whatever offensive role is needed at a given time.
If the Grizzly Cubs are to make their championship dreams reality, it will be the Draymond-ish play of Erica Buening that provides that last essential ingredient.
“She basically played any position that we needed to her to,” Brunson said of Buening. “She definitely gave us that defensive presence that we need. Especially down low, she can battle, rebound, all of that.
“I expect her to do what she did last year and more. She’ll definitely be more of a scorer this year; I think she’ll be more comfortable as well.”
Unlike classmates Kimbrell and Klem, Buening came off the bench at the beginning of her freshman season last winter. By state tournament time, though, she had staked out a spot as the third freshman in the starting lineup — and she saved her biggest contributions for the biggest stage. In a 51-48 regional title win at Bedford North Lawrence, Buening was 3 for 3 from the field, including a big 3-pointer, and 3 for 3 from the foul line, finishing with 10 critical points to help Franklin claim its first semistate bid since 1999.
Buening finished her rookie season averaging 5.5 points and 3.7 rebounds, but her impact isn’t necessarily measured on the stat sheet. On a team known for its explosive offense, Buening is perhaps the most critical cog at the other end.
Franklin coach Josh Sabol said that when he and his assistants go through the scouting report and figure out which opposing player they’re most concerned with shutting down, Buening is usually going to be the one who draws that assignment, regardless of position. She is the team’s defensive stopper.
It makes sense, then, that when the Grizzly Cubs are going “best on best” in practice, as they often do, Brunson usually finds herself being guarded by Buening.
“She’s always bothering me, on my hip,” Brunson said. “But it makes me better, makes her better, it makes everybody else better. She’s definitely a very strong defensive presence.”
At the offensive end, Buening is often counted on to be closer to the basket as one of the bigger and more athletic players on a perimeter-dominant team. But she, too, is capable of lighting it up from long range — at 16 for 33 (48%), Buening actually had the highest 3-point percentage of any Franklin regular last season.
“I’ve been playing down low in the post more, but I do like to go out and shoot 3s a lot,” Buening said. “We definitely like to have five out, attacking the middle and then kick out. I think that’s what we do best.”
“Erica’s a positionless basketball player,” Sabol added. “She can shoot, she can go right, she can go left, she can post up. She is really someone that you can put in any spot on the floor and she’s going to be really successful.”
Success is something that Buening and her classmates are used to — the current sophomore class was unbeatable as a unit through the elementary and middle school levels, and that group, along with a healthy and motivated Brunson, led the Grizzly Cubs to places they hadn’t been in almost a generation.
Ending the season with a 49-27 semistate defeat against Brownsburg was an entirely foreign feeling — one that Franklin’s most versatile player doesn’t have any desire to get accustomed to.
“The loss was really devastating,” Buening said, “but I think it’s a motivation factor to come into this season and prove what we didn’t last year.”
