Knierbein helps make NSA work

Anyone following the success of the Nansemond-Suffolk Academy girls’ basketball team this season is well aware of the big roles filled by Harper Birdsong, Caroline Hogg and Kelly Hogan.

But also helping the Lady Saints (24-4) to reach the state title game were some who made quieter contributions that were similarly vital.

One of these less-heralded players was junior guard Lindsay Knierbein, the Duke Automotive-Suffolk News-Herald Player of the Week.

“Night-in, night-out, she’s going to provide the same thing for us that she always does,” NSA coach Kim Aston said of Knierbein on March 5 after the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association Division II state championship game.

“She’s pretty crafty, defensively. She has good hands, deflects a lot of passes, will get on the floor, will chase rebounds down. Other than her, we don’t have too many that will really go get loose rebounds. So she came up with some big rebounds.”

Knierbein made a positive impact for the Lady Saints throughout the state tournament, helping them get big wins in the quarterfinals and semifinals, while helping keep things close in the final.

“I thought it was some of my better games, except for turnovers, especially in the final,” Knierbein said. “I thought I played as hard as I could, and I was pretty proud of how we all did, really.”

Like the rest of the team, Knierbein was disappointed that NSA lost 46-41 to The Miller School of Albemarle in the state championship, but she had no regrets about lack of effort.

“I know that I always put all the effort I can into it when I play, so that’s what I try to take away from it,” she said.

Amid all the uncontrollable variables of a basketball game, she said, she tries to focus on what she can control — her effort and her hustle.

Knierbein made her varsity debut with the Lady Saints last season and made clear advancements this season.

“I think she has grown tremendously, because when you think back to it, there was many games last year where she didn’t even get off the bench, especially at the start of the year,” Aston said. “And now this year, for the most part, unless she was in foul trouble, she wasn’t coming off the floor.”

Though some of her stats may be modest, others are not. For instance, she led the team in steals this season with 62, averaging 2.2 a game.

In addition to her rebounding skills, she took some offensive pressure off Birdsong this year when she was able to score in transition.

Knierbein averaged 6.2 points and 5.6 rebounds for the 2015-16 campaign.

“This season, I definitely had to step more into a more important role, and I was a starter from the beginning, so I was really lucky to have that opportunity,” Knierbein said.