Hinsdale Central junior Gabrielle Rush’s introduction to high school basketball certainly proved to be an eye-opening experience.
“I remember my first shot getting blocked,” Gabrielle recalls of her varsity debut as a freshman in the 2011 season opener. “And I was like, ‘OK, my shots from middle school aren’t really going to work,’ so I kind of had to learn quickly how to adapt to the faster game.’ ”
Gabrielle did just that, quickly becoming the one opening eyes with an impressive performance that began a stellar career for the Red Devils. She scored 29 points to lead Hinsdale Central to an upset win over Naperville Central and helped spoil the host Redhawks’ milestone celebration plans.
“I was beyond nervous for the game and [Hinsdale Central] Coach [Tom McKenna] mentioned there were these big-time newspapers there because unbeknown to us the opposing coach had 499 wins. So he scheduled us because we had a really bad season the previous year, and he was trying to get his 500th win,” Gabrielle remembers. “So it was a huge deal [to win] because they were a top 15th ranked team. I was so excited. That was definitely one of the highlights of my career.”
There have been plenty of highlights since for the 5-foot-9 sharpshooting guard. Rated as the No. 64 recruit in the nation by the Blue Star ranking system, Gabrielle set the Red Devils’ single-game scoring record with 39 points in a season-opening 62–60 win over St. Ignatius College Prep on November 21 that also put her over 1,000 career points. She matched that feat with 39 points in a 66–57 victory over Lyons Township on January 11. That was 18 points above her average this season. Last season, Gabrielle set a single-season record for three-pointers with 99.
“I think she’s the best player I’ve ever coached, (and) I’ve had some pretty good players,” says Tom, who has been coaching for 28 seasons. “She’s done a great job in terms of just maturing and getting better all the time. Offensively, she can do so many things. She goes to the hole very well. She can pull up and take a jump shot. She can hit the three with uncanny accuracy. She’s actually a great ball handler and a great passer, too.
“But above all that, she raises everyone else’s level because she’s such a competitor. I think she’s a major [Division I college] player.”
Gabrielle plans to take college visits this spring and make her decision before next season.
“I already have offers from schools, but I’m superstitious [to say which ones],” she says.
In addition to playing AAU basketball with Midwest Elite, Gabrielle also competes on Hinsdale Central’s tennis and soccer teams.
“Just making the [tennis] team was enough for me because it’s so competitive and we won state so that was exciting,” says Gabrielle, mostly a doubles player who didn’t compete at state. “I’ve had so much fun playing multiple sports and getting to meet different people.”
Gabrielle, who began playing travel basketball in second grade, comes from an athletic family. Her brother Nick is a senior football player at the University of Pennsylvania; her sister Christine is a junior basketball player at Brown University; her sister Danielle played tennis and basketball in high school; and seventh grade brother Matt plays basketball, baseball, and football.
“My parents [Peter and Kathleen] have always been big supporters of playing more sports because they think it’s good for cross-training and injury prevention,” she says. “Basketball always was a big family thing. I’d say I’m playing [basketball] pretty much every day, year-round, besides during tennis season. I need to improve my defense, which I’ll be working on this summer. I really like putting in the work and getting to see that work pay off.”
-Jeff Davis // Photography by Joel Lerner
