Crim: Pursuit of success and regional glory strengthens bond between Brown County’s Flynn twins

MOUNT STERLING, Ill. – Katey and Klare Flynn, identical twins born one minute apart and virtually inseparable since, are best friends off the basketball court.

“It helps that we’re around each other all the time,” said Klare, who entered the world second. “We’re like the same person. We like all the same things. We do everything together. So, we’re automatically best friends. But that’s by choice.”

On the court, the junior guards can either be each other’s biggest fan or critic, depending on the circumstances.

“They’re harder on each other and themselves than anyone else is,” Brown County girls coach Dave Phelps said. “They yell at each other. They have that twin relationship, close as can be, and they’re not afraid to say anything to each other.

“After every game, they want the film because they want to watch, to see what they did wrong, what they can do to be better. God blessed them with talent and they’re willing to work to make themselves better. They want to win and win badly.”

Brown County has been one of the area’s winningest teams the past three seasons, and the Flynn twins have played major roles in that success.

Although Klare was forced to miss her freshman season after tearing an anterior cruciate knee ligament the summer before, the Hornets improved their win total by seven games to finish 19-10 with Katey in an upperclassmen-dominated lineup.

They went 14-2 during last season’s COVID-shortened schedule, losing only to Class 2A schools Quincy Notre Dame and Illini West by a combined nine points. With senior Belle Koch the primary offensive threat and a deep bench, they would have been a strong 1A state tournament contender had there been a postseason.

This season, Brown County has won 20 of its first 24 games and is ranked ninth in the latest 1A state poll after being rated as high as seventh. All four losses have come to state-ranked teams – three times to Unity, No. 6 in 1A, and once to Illini West, third in 2A. Three of those defeats were decided by a combined four points.

Two losses came back-to-back in excruciating fashion in the CSE Classic in mid-January when the Hornets failed to hold onto late leads. Reagan Reed hit a running 3-pointer off one foot at the buzzer to give Illini West a 45-44 victory and Caroline Knox sank two free throws with 3.7 seconds left to lift Unity to a 46-45 win.

“Coming so close, it was heartbreaking,” Katey said. “But we came back and won the third-place game (against Central-Southeastern). I think it’ll help us later when it matters in the postseason.”

‘They give us a lot of flexibility’

Winning and performing well has driven the Flynn sisters since they began playing basketball, sometimes to their detriment.

“When they were younger, in junior high, they had trouble overcoming that,” Phelps said. “It had an adverse effect on their play. You could see them spinning their wheels trying too hard when things weren’t going the way they wanted them to go.

“As they’ve matured, they still take losses hard and take things they do wrong badly, but it doesn’t overwhelm them like it did in junior high. They’re able to gather themselves and rely on others.”

At 5-foot-10, the Flynns are not prototypical high school guards, which creates matchup problems for opposing teams.

Offensively, both can run the floor, score from the perimeter and beat defenders off the dribble. They can post up smaller defenders inside, and their quickness makes them difficult for most similar-sized players to defend.

Both also shoot better than 70 percent from the free-throw line.

Defensively, they play the point or wing on Brown County’s press, which often smothers smaller, weaker ballhandling teams. Their quickness and length help to create turnovers and easy scoring opportunities. In the halfcourt, they can play inside or outside, and their rebounding helps ignite the fast break.

“They are unique,” Phelps said. “They give us a lot of flexibility, which we try to take advantage of. They have played together so much that you can almost sense how they have a connection to each other.”

Klare is averaging a team-leading 17 points per game, six more than as a sophomore, and admittedly has more of a scorer’s mentality than her sister.

“I like to run the floor and shoot the three,” she said with a laugh. “When I first started playing high school ball, I didn’t look to shoot as much as I do now. This year, I had to step up and take some shots. I’m definitely not scared to shoot.”

Katey could match her sister point-for-point and often was the Hornets’ leading scorer earlier in the season. While she’s averaging 11.5 points per game, same as her sophomore year, she looks for her shot less often now while embracing the role of playmaker and defender.

“I’m definitely able to help more passing and playing defense,” she said. “I probably see the floor better now.”

Katey has regularly drawn Brown County’s toughest defensive assignment since her freshman year, along with high praise from her coach.

“She’s maybe the most well-rounded player I’ve coached, boy or girl, in my 25 years,” Phelps said.

“While it was horrific that Klare missed her entire freshman year, it helped Katey. She didn’t have the person she had always looked for on the floor since third grade. She had to look for other people. It helped make her a better point guard, a better scorer. And she changed the defensive dynamic of the team.”

Klare admits the knee injury was “the toughest thing I’ve had to go through mentally and physically.” But she says she used the season spent sitting on the bench “watching the game … from like a coaching perspective” to learn things that “definitely have made me a better player.”

The knee brace she wore as a sophomore but has since discarded was a constant reminder of the injury. She admits to being hesitant at times when pivoting on that leg, making a spin move or driving to the basket in a crowd, fearing what contact might bring.

“I was afraid I would hurt it again,” she said. “My family, my teammates and my coaches pushed me into like, ‘Hey, you’re OK, you can do it, just forget about it.’ I couldn’t forget about it for a long time.

“Finally, I was able to push it to the back of my mind and focus on playing. I don’t even think about it twice now.”

‘And I know our team can accomplish that’

Klare and Katey have been drawing interest from college coaches since their sophomore season. While they also have earned all-conference honors in both volleyball and softball, basketball is the sport they hope to pursue.

Phelps believes they have the skills to eventually play at the NCAA Division II level, although going to a junior college first might afford a better chance to play right away while they learn to handle the more physical college game.

The first question coaches inevitable ask is whether they are a package deal.

“It’s definitely an option,” Katey said. “I mean, it’s not like, ‘Oh, we’re definitely going together.’ It would be nice, but I think we’ll be OK on our own. We have time to figure it out.”

For now, Brown County is focusing on the final six games of the regular season, which include rematches with Illini West and Unity. Repeating as Western Illinois Valley Conference champion is one goal; winning the regional is another.

The Hornets also start three seniors with considerable varsity experience — 5-foot-3 guard Kaci McKeon, 5-foot-8 guard/forward Gabby McGath and 5-foot-9 forward Cortni Law. Gracie Hedden, another 5-foot-10 junior, and Ashlee Markert, a 6-foot freshman, are the first two players off the bench and log substantial minutes.

“We had a really good season last year, but we got just 16 games,” Klare said. “We were really looking forward to that postseason. So now I just feel like it’s our time to show everybody how good we can be.”

As you might expect with twin sisters, Katey is thinking along the same lines.

“We have won a conference and are looking for a second one this year, but my goal my whole high school career has been to win a regional,” she said. “I feel like we should win regionals and make a run at sectionals. And I know our team can accomplish that.”