If you walk by a Burlington Central practice or a game and you hear a voice over the rest of the group, chances are pretty good it’s junior guard Julia Scheuer. Regardless of where she’s at in life, Scheuer agreed she’s the most vocal one around. “I’m just a very excited person,” she said, smiling. “I am definitely the loudest on the court. I’m always motivating. I feel like even if one person brings the energy it can go throughout the team.” Her energy is infectious. And her effort on the court through two games sticks out as well. Scheuer had a second straight strong performance, scoring a game-high 18 points Wednesday night to lead the host Rockets to a 60-14 win over East Aurora at the Mark Einwich Tournament. Scheuer added seven rebounds, four steals and four assists for Burlington Central (2-0). Audrey LaFleur scored eight points and Jordyn Charles chipped in with seven. Ziah McDowell paced East Aurora (0-2) with eight points. Scheuer wasted little time getting things started Wednesday. She scored the first three baskets of the game in less than a minute as the Rockets stormed to a 35-2 lead by the second quarter. “It was good to see,” Scheuer said. “It’s rewarding, too, after we’ve done it in practice.” Burlington Central coach Mike Carani acknowledged he could start to see Scheuer turn the corner over the summer. She averaged 9. 7 points as a sophomore, but Carani sees another gear so far. “Her energy level is off the charts and she’s really worked on trying to work on fine-tuning her navigating inside the paint,” Carani said. “She’s put the work in and it’s showing so far. “I could see it. I saw a burst last year where I saw that she had it. It was just getting that consistency and confidence.” The Rockets aren’t the tallest team around, so Scheuer’s long, lanky build comes in handy. Not only is she up at the top of the press to get their transition offense going, she’s an asset getting the ball to the basket and in rebounding. “Her length gives us some opportunities to put some pressure on and really get the others moving in transition,” Carani said of Scheuer. “We’re a smaller team, so we’re going to have to push it in transition and avoid some of the half-court possessions as much as possible. “That’s something we’ve been working on more as a group.” LaFleur knows how important Scheuer’s defensive activity is to the team’s success. “She’s great at defense,” LaFleur said. “She’s always at the top, getting steals. She just anticipates the next pass and she gets it. She brings energy just in general. “I love playing with her. She’s one of my good friends.” Scheuer confirmed that she just feels different in her second season on varsity. Adjusting to the speed of the game and figuring out her role has been a big part of that. “It’s a lot different, just the leadership aspect,” Scheuer said. “Last year our team was young too, but now it feels like I have a lot more of a role because we have more underclassmen now. “I just have to bring the energy.” Carani was impressed with the Rockets’ 55-51 win over nemesis Sycamore in the opener. “That was a good test for us,” Carani said. “We’ve struggled with Sycamore in the past. It was good to come out on the right side of that.” Scheuer pointed out that win gives the team tons of confidence, especially going into Friday’s game against another quality opponent in St. Charles North. “It definitely helped us have motivation coming off of that win,” Scheuer said of beating Sycamore. “We know what we’re capable of. We know we can play with bigger teams.” Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/20/julia-scheuer-burlington-central-east-aurora-ihsa-girls-basketball/
Julia Scheuer brings high energy and then some for Burlington Central. Can you hear it? ‘Loudest on the court.’
