Rolling Meadows Girls Varsity Basketball Headed to State

The Rolling Meadows High School girl’s varsity basketball team has had an extraordinary season so far, but it’s not over yet. This morning, they are heading to the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) State Finals hosted by Illinois State University (ISU) in Bloomington, Illinois.

Right now, the team is 29-3, first winning at regionals, and just coming off a 55-31 victory in the Super Sectional against Evanston High School, which qualified them for state.

“We won the Mid-Suburban League (MSL) East conference, but after that lost the championship to Fremd High School in overtime, I believe that loss helped us refocus, spurred the girls to work even harder and now here we are,” said Ryan Kirkorsky, Rolling Meadows Girls Varsity Basketball coach.

The team is made up of one senior and nine juniors, in addition to a sophomore and two freshmen brought up to play for the team in the finals this weekend.  

Three juniors on the team have made quite the name for themselves.

Alexis Glasgow, a shooting guard, recently committed to Northwestern University to play basketball, point guard Jackie Kemph was named the MSL East Player of the Year and Jenny Vliet is a guard for the team who plays in multiple positions where she is needed, Kirkorsky said.

Vliet and Kemph both also have had numerous offers from universities trying to recruit them, but neither have made any commitments yet, Kirkorsky said.

The team has a full schedule once they arrive at ISU.

Media Day begins later today, and the team will then have the opportunity to practice on the ISU basketball courts.

Tonight, Glasgow and Vliet will compete in a 3-Point Competition, where each will take 15 shots in 45 seconds, along with dozens of other competitors.

A banquet will also be held this evening for the 4A division, which Rolling Meadows is a part of, as well 3A division teams also competing at the state finals. 

On Friday, Rolling Meadows will go up against Huntley High School, and depending on if they win, they will either play in the championship or third place game on Saturday.

“It’s a dream come true for a coach, the community comes out, we have fantastic fans, many of which will come out to root us on, on our fan buses,” Kirkorsky said.

Kirkorsky added that part of the reason the team has been so successful is due to the strong bond the girls share with one another.

Other team members team include Senior Morgan Keller, Juniors Sami Kay, Chloe Prodanovic, Elizabeth Vasilogambros, Allie Kemph, Katie Shewmon and Ashley Montanez, Sophomore  Nora Rasche and Freshmen Megan King and Hannah Mickey.    

“A majority of our team has grown up playing together on feeder teams, they have a strong connection,” Kirkorsky said.

In addition, Kirkorsky said all of the team members have exemplified strong leadership, for not only the high school, but the community at-large.

“Even outside of basketball, their accomplishments are tremendous, we see these girls play, they are impressive students at our school, they are great role models for the entire community,” Kirkorsky said.

In addition to head coach Kirkorsky, Nick Nichols is the assistant coach.

If you aren’t able to make it to Bloomington to cheer on the Rolling Meadows team, you can watch them online at the IHSA website.