Heine sisters share wins, make memories at SXU

While Hampshire graduate Jackie Heine was playing college basketball at NAIA Saint Xavier University, her schedule mostly kept her away from her alma mater, where her sister Chrissy was playing ball.

“I went to as many of her high school games as I could, but that wasn’t very often because I had my own games,” Jackie Heine said.

Now in her fourth season as an assistant coach at SXU, Jackie Heine is seeing plenty of her “baby sister,” who is a sophomore forward for the NAIA Cougars.

“I’ve gotten a lot closer with Jackie,” said 20-year-old Chrissy Heine, who is five years younger than Jackie. “It’s nice to have a family member close by. We talk a lot and we go out to dinner.”

Jackie Heine lives in Oak Park, just minutes from the St. Xavier campus on Chicago’s south side. She works in Chicago as a web auditor for an executive search firm. After 5 p.m. each weekday, she returns to the court where she made plenty of memories as a player.

“I love coaching basketball,” she said. “Basketball has been such a big part of my life.”

In three seasons with the Cougars, Jackie Heine scored 1,159 points, which ranks fourth all-time in school history. She also ranks third in career rebounds (857) and blocked shots (89).

The Cougars, with Chrissy Heine coming off the bench as a reserve forward, are off to a 12-4 start this season and were ranked No. 10 in the nation this week in NAIA Division I. SXU has six players who are averaging at least seven points a game.

“There’s no one player that stands out every night,” Jackie Heine said. “They all contribute.”

A defensive specialist who has played in 13 games, Chrissy Heine is averaging 2.5 points and

1.7 rebounds in just under seven minutes a game.

“It doesn’t matter if I play for a minute here or a minute there, I just love playing,” she said.

Head coach Bob Hallberg’s focus on effort has rubbed off on the younger Heine.

“Coach talks every pregame and every postgame about intensity … and how that’s what Saint Xavier is about,” Chrissy Heine said. “That has really stuck with me. I’ve always been a good defensive player. My shot has been coming along. Jackie has really helped me with that.”

While the sisters talk daily, sometimes no words are needed to get a point across.

“I can just look at her and she knows what I’m about to say,” Jackie Heine said.

Career day: Cary-Grove grad Jamie Kuhl scored a career-high 23 points Dec. 10 to guide D-III St. Norbert’s women’s basketball team to a 90-75 win against Knox College.

Kuhl, a senior forward, ranks second on the team with 11.1 points and 6.2 rebounds a game.

The Green Knights are off to a 7-3 start this season, including a 5-0 record in the Midwest Conference.

Mat monster: Central Michigan freshman wrestler Joey Kielbasa went 3-0 Dec. 19 at the Bison Duals in Mount Pleasant, Mich., to help the Chippewas win all three duals on the day.

Kielbasa, a Crystal Lake Central grad, has a 16-9 record for CMU in the 149-pound weight class.

Kielbasa also went 3-2 at the prestigious Midland Championships at Northwestern last month. Among Kielbasa’s 16 wins, 11 have come in tournament competition.

Barry Bottino writes a weekly column and a blog about local college athletes for the Northwest Herald. Write to him at BarryOnCampus@hotmail.com and check out his On Campus column every Saturday in the Northwest Herald sports section.