It is not known whether Daniel Burnham ever visited Hampshire. He certainly never saw a girls basketball game at the Purple Palace.
But the Whip-Purs have embraced the philosophy of the visionary city planner. They are making no little plans for the final month of the season.
“Getting to Redbird Arena is our main goal,” senior Lib Oleferchik, a 6-foot-4 center, said. “This is my last year. We went real far last year, and I think we can go farther this year. Even if we don’t win state, I just want to go there. I know my team can do it. We have the skills, the talent to get there. I definitely know we can do it if we all play our best. We can’t have any more bad games.”
Hampshire, which takes a 24-1 record into Friday’s final Big Northern White game at Genoa-Kingston, hasn’t had many bad games. The Whips’ only loss was by one point to Machesney Park Harlem in a game where they got into foul trouble. Hampshire is ranked 11th in Class A and has clinched its fifth conference title in six years.
The team’s success comes as no surprise to Hampshire coach Milt Awe. Last season’s team went 25-5 and advanced to the sectional final. The Whip-Purs, a nickname derived from the team colors of white and purple, lost only standout Stephanie Smith to graduation. Smith, now playing at Northern Illinois, was replaced by 6-1 senior Sarah Ream, who missed last season with a knee injury.
“We’ve had some great seasons in recent years, win-wise,” Awe, in his 15th year at Hampshire, said. ” We just thought we have the ingredients to do something special. We got to the sectional finals last year and lost. We have a big game–Rockford Lutheran–as the game we’re gearing for [in the sectional]. Our only loss was in overtime to Harlem, and they beat Harlem by a point. We scouted them three times and will probably see them a couple of other times.
“They say take one game at a time, play them as they come along. We have to admit we have been peeking ahead and looking at Rockford Lutheran.”
The Whip-Purs traveled to Hinckley-Big Rock Tuesday night for a road test against a Royals team that had won 15 straight. Oleferchik had 22 points and Ream added 18, nearly outscoring Hinckley in a 78-43 victory. The two made 19 of 22 field goals.
“We wouldn’t be where we are now without Sarah,” Oleferchik said. “She doesn’t always score a lot of points, but she gets a lot of assists. Teams can’t concentrate on just one player.”
Hampshire has a balanced attack. Oleferchik averages about 14 points per game, and Ream adds 10. On the outside, Jamie Barwick averages 15; three-point shooter Kylee Teboda, a transfer from Larkin, gets 12; and point guard Rachel Markham, the only junior in the lineup, adds 8.
“That’s the nice thing about this team,” Awe said. ” Everyone averages from 8 to 15 points. We don’t have one big scorer. We have a lot of balance. They all seem to have a big night sometime.”
Oleferchik is a dominant presence on the floor. She averages 12 rebounds a game and is a good shot blocker. She is particularly effective on the offensive boards, getting many of her baskets on follow-ups.
A three-year starter, Oleferchik is closing in on 1,000 career points. She has 981 going into Friday’s visit to Genoa-Kingston. In her last three games she has scored 33, 19 and 22 points, so there is a good chance she’ll break 1,000 Friday.
“That’s a goal I would really like to accomplish,” she said. “I’ve wanted to do this since I was a junior. It’s definitely important to me, but I’m not going to start shooting three-pointers. Mr. Awe won’t let me shoot those anyway.”
Hampshire has never made it to the Elite Eight. In 1998 the squad made it to the Super Sectionals, but two minutes into the game, standout Katie Rackow was injured and the Whips’ chances ended. This could be their year if they can get past Rockford Lutheran, among others. They have been waiting almost a year for another chance.
“I know we’re really not supposed to think about Rockford Lutheran; it all could come down to that game,” Oleferchik said. “We have to play hard and concentrate on the games ahead of us first.
“I thought we could go much farther than last year and I think we will. Stephanie was a big part of the team last year, and you can’t really replace her. But we have so many good players. Jamie had improved 110 percent, Rachel is 110 percent better, we have Sarah back and Kylee now. We just have so much talent on the team.”
The Whip-Purs have reason to plan big.
