Naperville North star Greta Kampschroeder did not save her best for last.
No, the 6-foot-1 senior forward brought her best effort to every game during her illustrious four-year career. And so it was Friday night.
Kampschroeder ended her high school career in style, totaling 28 points, 11 rebounds, seven steals and five assists as the visiting Huskies beat Waubonsie Valley 70-25 in Aurora.
The Oregon State recruit played her last game in the same gym as she did her first.
“It’s crazy because I played my first game in here in the West Aurora/Waubonsie WarHawk Tournament,” Kampschroeder said. “I just remember being super nervous coming into my first game as a freshman, so it’s weird playing my last game here.
“I never would have thought that. It happened because of the pandemic.”
Indeed, the abbreviated season will not end with a state tournament, so Kampschroeder and her teammates must be content with securing their third consecutive unbeaten run through the DuPage Valley Conference.
The Huskies (12-1, 10-0) have won 28 straight games in the DVC.
“It doesn’t feel like it’s done,” Naperville North coach Erin Colletti said. “It’s weird because you either end on a win downstate or you end on a loss. I don’t think it’s going to hit me until I don’t come to another game.”
That was a common sentiment among the Huskies.
There were no tears from Kampschroeder, who scored 10 points in the first quarter while the game was still competitive and stayed playing until the final minute with fellow seniors Alison Kickel and Emily Dulik.
“It feels like it’s not over, so that’s why I’m not super emotional,” Kampschroeder said. “It hasn’t really hit me yet.
“I know it’s not over for me for basketball and same with Alison, and I’ll see these girls. We’re all really close off the court, so it’s not like I’m not going to see them anymore. We’ll get in the gym and play some pickup, like we did over the quarantine.”
This had the feel of a pickup game as both teams played a freewheeling style.
Waubonsie (1-11, 1-9) got another solid effort from star senior point guard Lauren McKnight, who scored nine of her team-high 17 points in a first quarter that ended with the Huskies up 20-13.
It’s nothing new for McKnight, who had 989 points going into Waubonsie’s season finale Saturday against St. Francis. McKnight finished 0-10 against Kampschroeder in high school.
“I played against her in middle school, too,” McKnight said. “It’s been a good experience. She’s good competition and it was nice to play against her.”
Kampschroeder and McKnight played leading roles in turning around their respective programs.
In McKnight’s case, the Warriors went 38-47 in her first three seasons after winning only 20 games over the previous five years. She was the only returning starter this season.
“If we had a full season, it would have been nice,” McKnight said. “We could have gotten used to playing with each other.
“All these other teams had one or two girls graduate, but it is what it is. This last game, we just went out and played.”
The Huskies again took advantage of their depth.
Kickel, who committed Thursday to Wisconsin-River Falls, scored a career-high 15 points to go with eight rebounds and three assists. Sophomore guard Abby Drendel and sophomore guard/forward Abby Homan each added seven points and junior forward Sarah Crossett had six.
“I’m more emotional than Greta was,” Kickel said. “She’s amazing. She pretty much led our team in everything throughout her whole high school career.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.