Central senior Kendra Wilken caps career with another all-state season

Kendra Wilken still remembers her first game in a Breese Central Lady Cougars uniform four years ago.

The owner of Central’s career scoring and rebounding records — impressively for both boys and girls — and all-time leader in most of the Lady Cougars offensive catagories, Wilken ended her spectacular high school as a two-time Class 2A first team all-state selection. In four years, Wilken was a major part of a Cougars program which won 117 of 131 games, four straight championships in the rugged Cahokia Conference and played in three Class 2A Super-Sectionals.

Those accomplishments and the memories that Wilken helped create are a far cry from her first appearance for Central.

“My first game? I just remember how nervous I was,” Wilken said earlier this week. “To think that the four years went by so quickly and that I’ll never get to play again for the Central Lady Cougars is sad in a way. But I’m ready for the next phase of my life and right now I’m doing everything I can to get my mind and body ready for the challenge of playing at the next level. I know it will be difficult, but I’m looking forward to it.”

The 6-foot-2 Wilken, who will graduate from Central in May and begin classes at Saint Louis University in June, was the dominant Class 2A player in the state this season. Averaging 18 points and 12 rebounds, Wilken led Central to a 26-6 record and a berth in the Class 2A Jacksonville Super-Sectional where it saw its dreams of a second straight trip to the Class 2A state tournament end with a 50-47 loss to Camp Point Central.

The Belleville News-Democrat Class 1A-2A Girls Player of the Year, Wilken still thinks about the loss which ended her high school career.

“What happened that night?” Wilken said, pausing. “We didn’t come out and play with much energy or excitement in the first half. I didn’t play well in the first half. I think I had six points at halftime. It just seemed like everything they (Camp Point) did that night worked and we just really struggled. Plus, they had a couple of players have great games. Still, we had a chance to win it in the end. We just came up short.”

A record smashing senior season

Wilken, who ended her career with 2,258 points, 1,197 rebounds and 241 blocked shots, got her senior season off to a good start. Returning several players from its team which placed second in the Class 2A State Tournament in ‘15, the Cougars entered the year top-ranked and Wilken became the school’s all time girls scoring leader and all-time leader in points in a December win over Greenville.

Wilken broke the record of 1,832 points held by Lynn Klostermann in the first half then broke Brandon Book’s school mark of 1,848 points with a second half free throw.

“That is something I’ll always remember. I’m not one to really one who is into individual accomplishments and to me getting those records was more about the team,” Wilken said. “Without my teammates, scoring the points I have wouldn’t have been possible. They have been great.”

Wilken also has Central’s records in single-season points, 2-point field goals, 2-point field goal percentage, free throws attempted, free throws made, field goals attempted, field goals made and offensive, defensive and total rebounds.

Disappointing injuries early and late

While Wilken’s individual numbers speak for themselves and provide some of the highlights of the year, Wilken’s top highlight was helping Central place second in the 2015 Class 2A state tournament.

Under the guidance of head coach Nathan Rueter and his coaching staff and the leadership of senior point guard Sophie Rickhoff, the Cougars came within a whisker of earning a second state championship a year ago.

And with Wilken, forward Kaylee Schrand and three top guards returning in seniors Alicia Book and Grace Yaunches along with sophomore Faye Meissner returning, the Cougars were odds-on favorites to make a return trip to Redbird Arena in Normal in February.

But when Book suffered a season ending injury during preseason drills, the Cougars were minus a big piece of the 2015-16 puzzle.

“Sophie (Rickhoff) was our point guard last year and when she graduated we were looking at Alicia (Book) to basically fill that role. Then Alicia goes down with an injury and it was a big loss,” Wilken said. “I think what we missed most was that when things started to go wrong on the court, we had a hard time in stopping them. We had nobody who to slow things down and get things right again. That’s usually something a point guard can do.

“Grace (Yaunches) and Faye (Meissner) did a great job and they did their best. But Grace is more of a shooting guard and Faye is more a player who penetrates and takes the ball to the basket. We were just missing that one piece at times. Looking back now, I could have tried to do more to help get us back to the state tournament.”

Wilken’s college future

Wilken said she was on hand for all three of the Saint Louis University Billikens games in the women’s National Invitational Tournament last month.

“It was a lot of fun. We were winning the third round game until the end and so to lose in that way was a real heartbraker,” Wilken said. “I’m looking forward towards joining my new teammates in June. It’s a great group of girls and I think we’ve got a chance to be very strong the next few years.”

Wilken is doing her part to get ready for NCAA Division I basketball. Although she has not yet received a workout plan from Saint Louis University, Wilken has been working out on her own since the end of the high school season.

“I just had my season ending meeting with (Central) coach Nathan Rueter yesterday (Wednesday) and we talked about things I have to do and have been doing to get my body ready for the next level,” Wilken said. “I’ve been running and working out and basketball-wise, working on things that I haven’t done a lot of or haven’t been very comfortable doing. I’ve been working on my 3-point shooting and stepping out because the 3-point line in college is further out.”

One person who can make Wilken’s transition to college basketball easier is former Carlyle standout Paige Rakers.

A former Cahokia Conference great, Rakers played her first two years of college basketball at the University of Michigan before transferring to Saint Louis University. By NCAA rules, Rakers was forced to sit out last year and has two years of eligibility remaining at Saint Louis University.

“We’ve been emailing and texting back-and-forth,’’ Wilken said. “It’s going to be nice to have someone on the team I know and is basically where I’m from and knows how to handle playing major college basketball.”

This story was originally published April 9, 2016 at 5:09 PM with the headline "Central senior Kendra Wilken caps career with another all-state season."