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The date Oct. 31 has been circled on the calendar for some time at the Jim and Jennifer Schramek home.

Kendal Schramek, left, and her sister Brooke, during their playing days together at Benet Academy high school in Lisle, Illinois. The two will be on opposing teams in a game this weekend.

Daughters Kendal and Brooke, who play collegiate basketball at different schools (Kendal at UW-Oshkosh and younger sister Brooke at UW-Madison) will be on the court together during a Halloween exhibition game Sunday at the Kohl Center in Madison.

The Schramek parents will make the journey from their home in Naperville, Illinois, along with extended family and friends from Illinois and Wisconsin, to cheer on the sisters. The parents will wear specially decorated shirts bearing the names of both daughters and their schools.

“My whole family has been waiting for this matchup,” Kendal Schramek said. “My sister and I are extremely close, so I cannot wait to be out there with her, just having fun. There will be a lot of smiles on the court.”

Kendal, a fifth year senior at UWO, said she is excited that the game is the season opener. She said UWO has eight seniors who are “hungry” to win championships.

“There is no better way then starting the season playing a Big 10 team,” Kendal said. “It is just a bonus that my best friend happens to be our opponent.”

UWO women’s basketball head coach Brad Fischer said the game will provide a cool opportunity for the Schramek family to see the sisters on the court together as college basketball players. Fischer says they are among a very elite group.

“It takes a special talent to be able to play college basketball and those two and their older sister (Emily) who played at Northern Michigan all checked that box,” he said.

Fischer said the score of the exhibition game with the Badgers won’t be his focus―he said he has no expectations about beating a Division 1 program competing at the highest level of women’s college basketball.

The game will help the Titans learn about areas they need to improve on as they prepare for the regular season.

The Titans are the reigning Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champion and are ranked 17th nationally in the D3hoops.com’s 2022 National College Athletic Association (NCAA) Div. III preseason poll.

The coronavirus pandemic canceled the NCAA Div. III Championship, but hopes are high for the Titans who have all five of their starters returning.

UWO basketball player Kendal Schramek, right, with her younger sister, Brooke, who currently is on the UW-Madison team, pose for a photo before a game in 2018.

Bucky-Titan clash

“It’s exciting,” said Jennifer Schramek, mom of the basketball sisters, who played collegiate basketball at Carthage College in Kenosha. She met her future husband (Jim) when he was working at the scorer’s table during a Carthage women’s game. (She laughed, saying he asked if she needed help with her free throws.) “It’s only fitting that our three daughters would play basketball,” she said.

Jennifer noted that Kendal has endured injuries and hasn’t been able to contribute as much as she’d like to on the court. During a few brief appearances last spring, “she made a difference” on the floor, her mom said, adding that her hopes are for both daughters stay healthy and injury-free this season.

Each of the three Schramek sisters were standout players at their high school, Benet Academy in Lisle, Illinois.

“Kendal might talk some smack (about the matchup with Brooke), but at the end of the day they’re best friends first,” the proud mom said.

Face masks must be worn by fans in the Kohl Center and Jennifer Schramek will be working the next few days to create some custom masks. If her iron-on project works as planned, the masks will sport “Wisconsin” in red lettering and “Oshkosh” in black, and the words “Schramek sisters.”

Kendal said she decided to attend UWO because of the “family feeling” as soon as she stepped on campus. She is a senior majoring in communication studies, with a minor in radio TV film.

“I loved the whole experience of finding my passions on the court and off the court,” she said, adding her goal after graduation is to work in sports marketing. Her dream is to be a sports broadcaster.

Top photo: Basketball has always been a big part of life for the Schramek family. Pictured from left are youngest sister, Brooke, a member of the UW-Wisconsin basketball team; middle sister, Kendal, a senior on the UW-Oshkosh Titans basketball team; and older sister, Emily, an alumna and former basketball player for Northern Michigan University.

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