Father McGivney’s Sami Oller (center) celebrates the regional championship with teammates Devin Ellis (left) and Emily Johnson on Friday after the Class 1A Mount Olive Regional championship game in Mount Olive.
Matt Kamp/The Intelligence
Father McGivney’s Sami Oller dribbles into the paint against Okawville during the Class 1A Nokomis Sectional championship game on Thursday in Nokomis.
Matt Kamp/The Intelligence
Father McGivney’s Sami Oller is hoping to pick up a win over West Central in the semifinals of the Class 1A Nokomis Sectional in Nokomis on Tuesday.
Matt Kamp/The Intelligence
Father McGivney’s Sami Oller hopes to get a shot at facing Mount Olive’s Samantha Roeske in the semifinals of the Class 1A Mount Olive Regional in Mount Olive on Monday.
Matt Kamp/The Intelligence
Father McGivney’s Sami Oller scores against Gibault in the first half of Thursday’s non-conference game at Glen Carbon.
Matt Kamp/The Intelligence
When Sami Oller began her freshman season of basketball at Father McGivney, the Griffins were coming off a program-best 27-8 season that included their first regional and sectional championships.
Her second regional championship would come in 2023-24, with the 6-foot-5 forward Oller leading the charge in her final season.
“Our offense went through Sami and there were different ways to do it. She could score from the inside and outside,” FMCHS coach Jeff Oller said.
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Sami Oller – no relation to Jeff – led Father McGivney in scoring, steals and blocks her senior season, helping the Griffins to a 24-11 record and the Class 1A Mount Olive Regional championship.
For her performance on the court, Oller is the Intelligencer’s MVP for small school girls basketball. It is her third MVP honor, but her first in basketball. She has been the MVP for small school girls volleyball for the past two years.
“With her development over the last four years, she’s developed into a solid scorer for us,” Jeff Oller said. “It’s been pretty impressive.”
Oller’s freshman season was limited by COVID as the IHSA shortened schedules and kept teams local in 2020-21. She appeared in 10 of her team’s 12 games and scored 18 points.
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After averaging 5.8 points in her sophomore season, Oller flourished as the second half of a 1-2 punch with Mary Harkins. She averaged 14.5 points and 4.9 rebounds as FMCHS won a program-record 29 games before a postseason exit against Carlyle in the Class 1A Metro-East Lutheran Regional championship game. Oller shot a team-high 59.6 percent from the field.
“Her outside game wasn’t something she really had as an underclassman – maybe as a junior. She could score from the outside and from the mid-range as a senior,” Jeff Oller said.
Now that Harkins has graduated, Oller will take on the task of scoring in her final year.
Oller averaged a team-high 10.9 points on 47.7 percent shooting from the field. She was the only Griffin to average double figures.
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Oller scored in double figures 11 times, including a career-high 23 points in a win over Metro-East Lutheran on Dec. 4. Three days later, she surpassed the 20-point mark with a 21-point performance against Marquette Catholic.
With Oller leading the way, the Griffins won the program’s second regional championship with a 47-45 victory over Brownstown in Mount Olive. Oller scored a team-high 16 points, including 13 of her team’s 27 points in the first half.
“Sami had a chance to win a match,” said Jeff Oller.
At both ends of the field.
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Defensively, Oller led FMCHS with 104 steals and 39 blocks. She was second in rebounds with 162, trailing only Mia Lieberman’s 168. The 39 blocks were a single-season program record, breaking the previous record of 25 she had set in each of her junior and sophomore seasons.
“Sami could impact the game on both ends, especially defensively,” Jeff Oller said. “She was always solid defensively, but last season she was such a rim protector for us. She blocked and altered shots. It was tough inside for almost every team. She also got steals and deflections.”
Oller’s steals came largely from Father McGivney’s full-court press, whether she was on top of the ball or behind it with her long wingspan.
“Sami was able to do some really good things in both press positions and that showed her versatility,” said Jeff Oller.
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After the season, Oller was named a Third Team All-State selection by the IBCA for the second straight season.
Oller finished her career with 1,063 points, which is the third most in program history, behind Anna McKee (1,361 points) and Charlize Luehmann (1,113). Madison Webb (1,034) is the only other player in program history to score more than 1,000 points.
Oller also finished with 462 rebounds, 256 steals and a career-high 98 blocks.
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“Sami put in so much work. She was a very dedicated player. She brought something new to her game every year,” Jeff Oller said. “She was a very unique and talented player for us.”
Oller will play for Illinois Wesleyan University next season.
