Hampshire knows the task is a daunting one
Hampshire girls basketball coach Sue Ellett is pretty much a realist.
And Ellett knows the reality is that if her Whip-Purs are playing for a sectional championship this Thursday night, it will be because they pulled off a monumental upset on Monday.
Hampshire (24-4) opens play in the 6 p.m. game of the Class 3A Marengo sectional Monday against Freeport, the defending state runner-up in 3A and a senior-laden team that has gone 27-3 this season, with its only losses to 3A powers Peoria Richwoods and Montini, and Class 4A power Rockford Boylan.
"Freeport is the real deal," said Ellett of the Pretzels, who were ranked No. 6 in the final Associated Press Class 3A state poll. "They really play well together and they've played well together for a long time."
The Pretzels, who lost to Chicago Marshall in last year's state championship game, boast four seniors - Courtney Shiffer, Suporia Dickens, Katie Norman and Kelsey Hoefer - who have all scored over 1,000 career points. Norman is the niece of Bartlett assistant coach Pat Arnet, who is a Freeport graduate.
"I've never heard of that," said Sterling coach Julie Schroeder, the former Burlington Central coach whose team lost to Freeport 48-34 in Friday's regional title game at Sterling, ending her team's season 21-11. "Where have you ever seen four kids on the same team with over 1,000? They're awfully good. We did what we wanted to do against them, we just didn't finish around the hoop. But on any given night any of those four can hurt you. Being able to contain Norman and Dickens is a challenge for anyone."
Ellett agrees.
"They pose some matchup problems for us," she said. "We have to contain Shiffer (21 points vs. Sterling) and not let her have 10-12 layups. She's tough, and Katie Norman is smooth."
But that doesn't mean Ellett is ready to throw in her purple towel and concede anything just yet.
"I think we have tough enough athletes to match up," said Ellett. "We've played at Marengo; it's a familiar setting for us. It's 15 minutes and we hope to get a nice crowd.
"We don't have anything to defend. We haven't been there. They're the ones with something to defend. We'll just ask our kids to play with all the emotion and intensity and passion they have."
The Whip-Purs won a regional title for the first time in 3A and the first time since 2005 by knocking off Kaneland and Burlington Central at Kaneland. Senior Christine Schumacher hit big 3-pointers for the Whips in each of those games and they got their usual steady play from juniors Christina Heine and Cassie Dumoulin, sophomore Alex Dumoulin, and seniors Gianina Estocado and Kelly Plichta.
"The kids are focused and ready to go," Ellett said. "We've scouted (Freeport) quite a bit and I think we've got some tools to give them a game."
The second game at Marengo pits a couple of unlikely opponents -Crystal Lake Central and Oswego -against each other. CL Central (9-18) was a No. 4 seed in its regional and upset Marengo in the opener before beating Belvidere in the title game, while Oswego (23-5) dumped top-seeded Rosary for a regional title. Oswego has won 15 straight games.
The Marengo sectional winner advances to the Elgin Community College supersectional to face the North Chicago sectional winner. Johnsburg is the favorite at North Chicago.