Green Bay soccer recruit Laney Stark switches things up in basketball for St. Charles North. ‘I like it a lot.’

While playing her primary sport, St. Charles North’s Laney Stark is all about offense.

The Green Bay soccer recruit excels on the offensive end. When it comes to basketball, however, the senior guard shifts her focus to the less glamorous side of things — defense.

Stark set the single-season program record for steals last season with 105, her first with the North Stars after transferring from Bartlett. She’s on pace to break her record halfway through this season as well, with 68 through 16 games.

“I’ve always had the love for it,” Stark said. “I always love having to stuff someone up and create offense for my team. They love to shoot, and I love producing that for them.”

Stark’s role in that pressure defense has increased this season for the North Stars (14-2).

She’s now at the top of the press the whole game relentlessly hounding opponents, with her soccer conditioning keeping her active the entire time.

“When kids can be multisport athletes, it helps in all of their sports,” St. Charles North coach Mike Tomczak said. “She moves on the floor like a soccer player does.

“She’s all offense, all the time in soccer. But you can definitely see the benefit (in basketball). She has a nose for the ball.”

Stark’s dedication to that end of the floor doesn’t go unnoticed by her teammates either.

Reagan Sipla often receives the benefits from Stark’s steals and deflections. The Quinnipiac recruit knows that helps the North Stars create more offense.

“It says a lot about her as a teammate that she wants to step into that role,” Sipla said. “She’s there for the team to win. It opens up more opportunities, whether it’s in transition or just in general.

“It gives us energy. It gives us a boost.”

The other thing that stands out is Stark brings that level of intensity every game.

“She knows that is her strength,” Sipla said. “She knows she’ll be bringing it every time, and we can expect that as a team and as a program.”

One issue Stark encountered at times as a junior was getting into foul trouble by being too aggressive. That hasn’t been the case this season.

Stark has been even more productive, creating turnovers while simultaneously remaining on the court for longer stretches.

“She’s much more technically sound,” Tomczak said. “It’s incredibly difficult to do.”

Stark pointed out there was nothing technically she did to improve in that area. The difference between soccer and basketball exists.

It’s being conscious of that in the moment that has led to her improvement.

“It’s just my aggressiveness,” Stark said. “In soccer you can just go hit someone, and you can’t do that in basketball. When I switch from soccer to basketball, it can be hard at first.

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“I have to think about it for a while. After a while, you get used to it. Just keep your hands off, try not to step in front of anybody.”

Another thing that transfers from the soccer field to the court is studying angles and knowing how to anticipate where passes are going to go.

That has helped her be able to pick and choose when to strike.

“I like it a lot,” Stark said. “It’s very tiring, but it’s always a lot of fun because my role is to get deflections so my teammates can get steals. I have a lot of freedom up top to do what you think is going to force people to turn the ball over.”

Tomczak said Stark’s teammates feed off her defensive energy.

“Defense is not something that really gets a ton of attention,” Tomczak said. “You have to commit to it. She’s taken that on her shoulders and takes pride on that side of the ball.”

Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.