{"id":447213,"date":"2026-02-03T20:53:17","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T20:53:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/447213\/"},"modified":"2026-02-03T20:53:17","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T20:53:17","slug":"wnba-shows-highland-parks-reese-crosby-what-it-takes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/447213\/","title":{"rendered":"WNBA shows Highland Park’s Reese Crosby ‘what it takes’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Highland Park senior forward Reese Crosby has been around basketball all her life.<\/p>\n

Crosby\u2019s mother, Ann, is the vice president of basketball operations for the WNBA\u2019s Chicago Sky<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was born into basketball,\u201d Crosby said. \u201cShe started working for the Chicago Sky right before I was born, so I was born into that world. It\u2019s been a privilege going to games. I\u2019ve probably gone to 500 games in person and gone on trips with her.\u201d<\/p>\n

So immersed in the sport, Crosby took it for granted until she suffered a season-ending knee injury during her sophomore season.<\/p>\n

\u201cI couldn\u2019t run for five or six months and wasn\u2019t cleared to play until nine months after my surgery,\u201d she said. \u201cI learned how much I loved the game of basketball, just having to sit there and not being able to help the team. It was torture. It taught me real perseverance. It was mentally hard and made me stronger and work harder.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter that, I didn\u2019t take another day for granted and improved drastically. College was always a goal of mine, but I was OK if it didn\u2019t happen. After my injury, I had to play in college and didn\u2019t want to give basketball up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"HighlandHighland Park’s Reese Crosby, center, drives between Maine East’s Talia Rafidi, left, and Marie Matsumoto during a Central Suburban League North game in Park Ridge on Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. (John Konstantaras \/ News-Sun)<\/p>\n

The 6-foot Crosby, who recently committed to play at Division II Regis University, bounced back last season to earn all-conference honors as she helped Highland Park win the Central Suburban League North title.<\/p>\n

Shouldering more responsibilities this season, Crosby is averaging 16.7 points on 49.2% shooting, 8.0 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.6 blocks as a captain for the Giants (13-9, 6-3).<\/p>\n

\u201cWe talked a lot last year, especially toward the end of the year, what her role would be in her senior year,\u201d Highland Park coach Jolie Bechtel said. \u201cShe\u2019s shown significant improvement, and it\u2019s very obvious she worked very hard over the summer, attacking the basket and being an overall leader. She\u2019s more vocal and the most experienced player on our team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Being around some of the best basketball players in the world made an impression on Crosby.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt taught me what it takes to get to that point,\u201d she said. \u201cMost of them are athletic freaks, but they spend every waking hour working on their craft. That\u2019s where I kind of got my work ethic, even watching my mom work so hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Highland Park junior point guard Kourtnie Halperin<\/a> said Crosby\u2019s recovery from her knee injury made that clear.<\/p>\n

\u201cReese worked hard to get back to the court after her injury and used her determination and dedication to basketball to get through it,\u201d Halperin said.<\/p>\n

Highland Park junior forward Lily Sever said Crosby, who has started since her freshman season, is a savvy player too.<\/p>\n

\u201cReese always find the pockets to slide into for a layup or jumper,\u201d Sever said. \u201cShe\u2019s so intelligent when it comes to the sport and knows exactly where to be at all times.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"HighlandHighland Park’s Reese Crosby (22) and Kourtnie Halperin (5) celebrate during a Central Suburban League North game against Maine East in Park Ridge on Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. (John Konstantaras \/ News-Sun)<\/p>\n

Highland Park sophomore guard Emily Calub agrees, noting Crosby is a playmaker.<\/p>\n

\u201cReese does an amazing job at creating her own shot,\u201d Calub said. \u201cShe has really developed her midrange game, and it\u2019s become a strength for her.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of many.<\/p>\n

\u201cReese is a very versatile player,\u201d Calub said. \u201cNot only can she take advantage of her height, but she can also handle the ball effectively under pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bobby Narang is a freelance reporter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Highland Park senior forward Reese Crosby has been around basketball all her life. Crosby\u2019s mother, Ann, is the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":447214,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[4050,23135,5629,14059,210110,210111,983,99,434],"class_list":["post-447213","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-high-school-sports","tag-highland-park","tag-illinois","tag-lake-county","tag-lake-county-news-sun","tag-lake-county-news-sun-sports","tag-local-news","tag-sports","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/447213","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=447213"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/447213\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/447214"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=447213"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=447213"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=447213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}