Erica Buening’s involvement in Franklin’s first semistate berth in girls basketball in 22 years is wide-ranging.
The freshman started the season as the second or third player off of coach Josh Sabol’s bench, gradually working her way toward more significant minutes with each game. Once the postseason tipped off, Buening had become the third ninth-grader to crack the Grizzly Cubs’ starting lineup.
Buening, a 5-foot-9 guard, is part of Franklin’s heralded group of freshmen led by point guard Lauren Klem and wing Scarlett Kimbrell, and she’s a big reason Sabol and his assistants continue to conduct practices in the latter half of February.
Need a player to apply an adhesive brand of defense on the other team’s leading scorer? Or play in the post? Or take and make a clutch outside shot? Buening — who also excelled on the soccer field for the Grizzly Cubs in the fall — can do it. She’s all effort all of the time, coachable and willing to do whatever is needed for her team to succeed.
“We call her the Terminator,” Sabol said. “She’s strong, she’s fast, she’s smart, and we just love her. We just felt like her and Lauren Sandrock were kind of going back and forth, but you have to credit Lauren for being able to handle that.
“(Sandrock) is a team player first, and she’s been great.”
Buening is coming off one of the finest performances in her brief varsity career — 10 points and four rebounds in Franklin’s 51-48 defeat of host Bedford North Lawrence in Saturday night’s regional final. Her 3-pointer to tie the score at 44-44 late in the fourth quarter was a monster shot in a game filled with monster shots.
Though she doesn’t shoot the same volume of 3s as some of her teammates, Buening has made almost half (16 for 33) of her attempts from behind the arc this season.
“I like being a starter. I like to start the game because it’s just fun to get out there,” said Buening, who helped the Cubs start their tournament roll with 12 points, seven boards, two assists and two steals in a 77-43 drubbing of Shelbyville to open sectional.
“I do a lot inside the paint, but I like to step out and shoot 3s as well. You just have to learn to keep your cool. We’ve been working real hard as a team, so I knew we had a chance. It paid off.”
Buening’s new role also meant a new one for Sandrock, a senior who scored a total of 40 points in the 17 regular-season games in which she played. Sandrock’s seven points and three boards off the bench in Franklin’s 51-44 regional semifinal win over Castle loomed large; against BNL, she grabbed five rebounds and drained a 3-pointer from the top of the key late in the second stanza.
Some seniors wouldn’t take kindly to being supplanted in the starting lineup, particularly by a freshman.
Buening said Sandrock has been nothing but supportive.
“She’s so sweet,” Buening said. “She’s very, very supportive. We’re good friends. We both work really hard, and I know she’s as happy for me as I am for her.”
Winning this regularly tends to keep everybody smiling.
