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Becca Bajorek and Michele DeVault both have a lot of work to do to prepare for next season, and both hope their participation in the Worthington Women's Summer Basketball League will help.

Bajorek, a junior at Ball State, was a standout at DeSales High School. She lettered all four years and was first-team all-CCL the last three. DeVault, a sophomore at East Tennessee State, holds Upper Arlington's single-season (427) and career (1,122) records for points scored.

The two now face new challenges as they prepare for their next collegiate season.

"I played and started the majority of the games (at Ball State last season)," said the 6-foot-2 Bajorek, who averaged 6.4 points and 4.8 rebounds and led the team in field-goal percentage (50.4) as Ball State finished 16-13. "Last year, we had our best player (Kate Endress), who averaged a lot of points (18.5), graduate and move on. This year I'm going to be a junior and it will be a big adjustment. I've been working on the leadership skills and the small points of the game.

"I think this league is helpful because sometimes it's chaotic. It's not really set-play ball. I talk to my (Under the Rim) teammates and try to become the vocal leader. We're giving each other small pointers here or there."

In Under the Rim's 79-64 win over Global Distribution on July 21, Bajorek scored 15 points.

Bajorek is also looking forward to the regular-season finale today at 9 p.m. against HER-Henry. Both teams are 10-0 entering the showdown.

HER-Henry is led by Ohio State's Jessica Davenport, who had 19 points in her team's 71-52 win over 7-Up on July 21 and led the Buckeyes to a 30-5 record last winter.

"I think (two undefeated teams possibly playing) it's huge and says a lot about the competition of this league and the competitiveness of the two teams," Bajorek said. "We've been talking about it all summer and we've all played together whether in high school or AAU. We're ready to go and have been talking a bunch of smack."

DeVault, whose HER-Cooper team is 5-5 before playing 7-Up today, said her freshman year at East Tennessee was an eye-opening experience.

"This is very beneficial," said the 5-11 DeVault, who started 18 of 28 games and averaged 6.4 points and 2.6 rebounds. She also totaled 35 steals and 22 assists as East Tennessee finished 12-16 overall and 9-11 in the Southern Conference. "This league has so many great players (from) teams like Ohio State in it. You need to keep that game intensity up all summer long so you don't lose that for the fall, or preseason.

"I had a fairly good year (at East Tennessee). At the beginning it was an adjustment coming off the bench, which I never did in high school. But as the season progressed, I learned some new things about the game, the speed and the tempo and how much talent other girls have. Once I got used to that, the transition became a little bit easier."

DeVault, who was a four-year letterwinner and the OCC-Ohio Division Player of the Year in her senior season at UA, said the WWSBL is exactly what she needs to be facing to keep her sharp for college.

"You have to use your head much more," she said. "It's not high school where you can muscle your way through all the girls. Here, the girls are quicker and faster and stronger. You have to use your smarts a lot more. You've got to bring it in this league."