Girls Basketball notes: Batavia junior Brooke Carlson reaches 1,000 career points

Brooke Carlson can add another piece of history to her growing high school basketball accolade box.

Carlson, a Batavia junior guard, notched her 1,000th career varsity point in the Bulldogs’ 45-40 victory over Wheaton Warrenville South on Dec. 22.

Carlson needed 62 career games to accomplish the achievement, the fastest to reach 1,000 points in program history.

“I feel very fortunate how it all happened,” Carlson said. “There are some great players that came before me, and to be in the steps of them is really cool to me. It is also so nice to have the support of everyone from the community and my coaches and teammates.”

Carlson knew she was two points away entering the Dec. 22 game.

“The celebration was amazing to see how many people supported me and showed how much they cared about my accomplishment,” Carlson said. “It was such a fun time to celebrate with my teammates and the night was even better since we pulled out the win.”

Carlson notched her 200th career assist earlier in the season against St. Charles East on Dec. 14.

Through 11 games this season, Carlson is averaging 18.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 4.2 steals a game.

“It’s too bad she played only half a season her freshman year,” Batavia coach Kevin Jensen said after the Bulldogs’ 62-40 loss to Geneva on Dec. 16. “Our guards are some special kids.”

Madden providing defensive lift for Geneva

Geneva junior guard Caroline Madden has prioritized focusing on her defensive presence and it has noticeably made a difference.

Madden was primarily responsible defensively for limiting Carlson to 12 points during Geneva’s 62-40 victory over Batavia on Dec. 16.

“That’s what Caroline does,” Geneva coach Sarah Meadows said. “We talk about Caroline and Rilee [Hasagawa] all the time. Their stats aren’t going to be off the charts, but they can’t not be on the floor with everything else that they do for us. They’re really good basketball players.”

Madden isn’t necessarily counted on for scoring points with Cassiy Arni, Leah Palmer and Lauren Slagle handling the heavy lifting offensively.

“I usually guard the point guard, so I’ve been focusing a lot more on getting better at that,” Madden said. “I’m trusted to bring the ball up and keep the composure on the court. I’m trying to focus more on being a leader this year and I think I have a big defensive role on the team.”