Kane County Chronicle girls basketball Player of the Year: Aurora Central Catholic senior Riley Cwinski

Before the 2021-22 season, Aurora Central Catholic coach LeVada Smith was on the fence about where he wanted then-freshman Riley Cwinski.

While he already had a varsity lineup set, which already included one freshman, Smith wasn’t sure if he should bring up Cwinski or just keep her playing between the JV and varsity levels.

Ultimately, he made the decision to bring her up to varsity. And four years later, he certainly doesn’t regret his decision.

“I told her that she’s the best player to have come through this program, boys or girls, in my opinion,” Smith said. “I’ve been at the school since 2011 and I’ve never seen a player at that caliber who was just able to score whenever she really wanted to.”

In her final season as a Charger, Cwinski averaged 17.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, two steals and two assists per game on 51.2% shooting to lead the team to a program-best 27 wins. Along with being named the Girls Catholic Athletic Conference White Division Player of the Year and to the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Class 2A All-State third team, Cwinski became the first player in program history, boys or girls, to score 2,000 career points.

Considering the accolades, Cwinski has been named the 2024-25 Kane County Chronicle Girls Basketball Player of the Year.

“We accomplished so much this season as a team, even if we didn’t go as far as we wanted to in the playoffs,” Cwinski said. “I’ve never had a team like that and our bond is just unmatched. So anytime I stepped onto the court, it was worth it.”

Much of Cwinski’s success came from her ability to work her way into the paint, where she scored a majority of her points on the season. Cwinski, who is left-handed, said teams always would try to force her to her non-dominant hand, but it would never be enough to deny her a basket.

“Teams would scout us, and so when I got the ball, I could hear the coaches on the sideline yelling at their players to force me to my right hand,” Cwinski said. “But I’m so good at getting back to my left hand and I would be very creative in finding a way to go left.”

With a lot of her play inside the paint, Cwinski managed to make a lot of trips to the free-throw line, where she shot 73.5% this season. After shooting only 50% from the line a few years ago, Smith said it’s one of the many changes to Cwinski’s game that she’s made over the years.

“Each year, it just seemed like offensively she got better and better,” Smith said. “It was always something different. She was finishing better, she was willing to take more jump shots. She would work on her ball handling and maybe go to her right more often. It was always something small that was just constantly coming differently each season.”

It’s part of the reason why Cwinski has been a key factor in the team having three consecutive 20-plus win seasons. Before the streak, the Chargers had only one season with more than 20 wins – the 2011-12 season.

She wasn’t doing it alone. Cwinski was playing alongside fellow four-year starting guard Sofia Corral and credits Corral for helping get her the ball a lot during transition when Cwinski was at her best.

Smith felt the connection helped the two become better leaders for the team over the years.

“Our bond is just unmatched,” Cwinski said. “We’ve known each other for so long. We’ve always had a great bond on the court, but we’ve built our bond up even more by getting to know each other off the court. And that helped us create more success on the court as well.”

Cwinski is committed to play basketball at the University of St. Francis in Joliet. Smith said there’s no question about the legacy that Cwinski will leave behind for the Aurora Central Catholic program.

“You don’t get players like her to come through here too often,” Smith said. “She wanted to win and she wanted to compete with anyone that was on the floor. And I think it made people want to come watch and see who she is as a player.”