Pleasant Plains senior upholds reputation as consummate teammate across all sports

RIVERTON — Adi Fraase’s identity never changes at Pleasant Plains.

She has carved out a niche as a facilitator and defensive specialist in volleyball, basketball and soccer. This bustling senior always stays true to form no matter the setting.

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It wasn’t intentional. It just kind of turned out that way, and she intends to play both basketball and soccer at Lincoln Land Community College after this school year.

“I didn't want to give up either,” Fraase said. “I always wanted to play soccer because that's like my main sport and I absolutely love it. And then just going through the season, I just didn't want to give up basketball. I've been talking about it with the coaches, and they both seem on board with it, so I'm really excited.”

Defensive catalyst

Fraase recently helped supply the basketball team’s fifth Sangamon County Tournament title in the last seven appearances in a 60-18 victory over Williamsville at the Hawk Center on Thursday.

It encapsulated what she does best: wreak havoc on defense with takeaways and spur the offense with assists. Four different players tallied at least nine points. Fraase perhaps only had two points, but more than delivered in other pivotal aspects of the game.

It all starts with defense and constant pressure.

“I think it makes us effective because we try to make them play faster than what they want to play because we're trying to trap them and get them to kind of freak out that we're on them so fast,” Fraase said.

Her dad and coach, T.J., described Fraase as a glue leader. She is unequivocally the team’s epicenter with four sophomores in the starting lineup: Bailey Leach, Anna Weber, Grace Sabatka and Madison Burke.

Weber won the Don Hartlaub Award as the tournament MVP.

“She understands how fast she can go,” T.J. said. “She understands that when she's not on, she's not going to shoot the ball, she's going to pass the ball. That's her, she will accept that she's not on that night. She'll set the other girls up and get them their points.”

Fraase acquired at least some of those traits from dad, who has always been her basketball coach from the beginning. He was also her soccer coach prior to high school.

“It's nice having him there because he's always pushing me to play better and be a better player that I can be,” Fraase said.

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Habitual winner

Fraase has yielded a good number of hardware along the way.

She was named all-Sangamo Conference first team as a sophomore and second team as a junior in basketball while the Cardinals won the league title both seasons. Over the fall, she helped lift the volleyball team to a third straight supersectional title as a setter alongside senior teammate Claire Long. Both were tabbed all-Sangamo third team.

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Then there’s soccer.

Fraase, a center back, has twice lapped up all-sectional honors from the Illinois High School Soccer Coaches Association and helped power the Cardinals to their first state finals appearance since 2009 last spring.

Her older sister, Ali, similarly flourished on the pitch and was the The State Journal-Register's Small School Girls Soccer Player of the Year before playing at Lincoln Land.

“She's all-around a good player at anything,” said Leach, who was the Small School Girls Soccer Player of the Year recipient herself as a freshman midfielder. “She's an all-star athlete for sure.”

Leach led Plains (16-6) with 18 points against the Bullets while sharing the point guard role with Fraase.

“I love Adi,” Leach said. “She's had a lot of experience handling the ball. She's a great point guard, great shooting guard — great at anything. She's a great person to be around and I've learned a lot.

“She's taught me to be a leader be honest. She's told me to calm down sometimes — play at our speeds and play at our tempo. She's just been a great role model to me and I love her a lot.”

The feeling is mutual.

“She's an amazing player, Fraase said of Leach. “I love playing with her. I was so excited that we were going to be playing together this year and it's been amazing so far.”

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: How Pleasant Plains girls basketball revolves around Adi Fraase