February 3, 2026, marked Oak Lawn’s annual Paint the Gym Purple double header. This game happens yearly to raise awareness for students and their families who have or battled cancer. Shortly after our lady Spartans played and before the boys play, OLCHS honored those who battled cancer or know someone who has battled cancer, acknowledging their bravery and honoring them.
Students showed up in full support wearing purple, purchasing the shirts our school created, and decorating the Spartan Gym. Both the boys and the girls performed remarkably well, however, surprised is one thing that should be used to describe the turnout for the girls game.
The game against Shepard kicked off at 5:00 o’clock with starters Emma Delberto, Sara Abdelrahman, Maryam Hussein, Bianca Fleitas, and Olivia Perry. The first quarter of the game started off strong with Emma Delberto scoring 2 points followed by Bianca Fleitas hitting a 3 pointer putting Spartans in the lead 5-2. As a whole the team’s defense was strong and really made Shepard work for the possession of the ball. After a 30-second time out Kenadie Haubenreiser and Clark Zylius came off the bench contributing to our team’s well played defense.
Soon after the quarter ended Spartans were up 13-07 marking the start of the second quarter which only added an intense factor making the audience more excited.One Player who was very exciting to watch was Kenadie Haubenreiser who scored an impressive 12 points across the quarter. Our girls stayed consistent with their defense which allowed us to end the quarter 29-16. Shepard kicked up the intensity after halftime attempting to stop the ball from going into our possession.
Despite their efforts our Lady Spartans didn’t give in, Sara Abdelrahman made an immediate 3 pointer followed by Bianca Fleitas making two free throws putting the Spartans up. After a back and forth between Shepard and the Spartans, our girls stayed competitive and continued to keep their lead ending the quarter 46-33. The Lady Spartans continued to play smart and defensively, keeping the ball away from Shepard. Players like Emma Delberto, Olivia Perry, Bianca Fleitas, and Kenadie Haubenreiser continue to contribute immensely to the games score.
Shortly after a full-time out taken by Shepard the game ends with Spartans winning 63-53. Shortly after the game Junior Olivia Perry had her own insights, “I think the game went really well. This was a huge game for us, and we definitely showed out like we needed to.” Perry continued, “We were like a well oiled machine offensively, and we were moving the ball around the floor really well.”
Being one of the few there to witness this game really opened audiences eyes to how much the turn about for women’s sports are. These girls had an amazing and well deserved win which should have been celebrated as much as the boys side was. In the end both teams came out on top, securing well-deserved wins for our school and advocated for those battling or who’ve battled with cancer. Paint the Gym Purple will forever be a tradition that continues throughout our schools history.
