Boone Grove junior guard Sammie Grieger isn’t most people.

Many upperclassmen would take it as a slight if they were told they’d be splitting time between the junior varsity and varsity teams.

Not Grieger.

“We talked to Sammie toward the start of the year,” Boone Grove coach Michael Simatovich said. “We told her what was going to happen, and with a smile on her face and everything, she said, ‘That’s fine with me. I’m good to go. I just want to play basketball.’

“And from there, I mean, she’s been a huge part of the growth of our JV team, pushing them harder and harder and making sure they keep their heads up. She’s a big part of why these girls are working as hard as they do.”

Grieger’s role demands flexibility and maturity. Boone Grove senior guard Jaelyn Voudrie, who has also been in that position, knows how tough it can be.

“It’s hard,” Voudrie said. “You’re like, ‘Man, why can’t I just be one or the other? Why do I have to play both?’ But Sammie is so positive. Other people would complain and have before, but Sammie does not complain. She takes whatever position you give her.

“If we’re just going with the flow, she is OK with that. She fills in and steps into whatever role someone gives her.”

Recently, the 5-foot-5 Grieger has been a defensive specialist for the Wolves (4-11, 1-5). Over six games, she’s averaging about two steals.

One of those steals came during a Porter County Conference game against Westville on Dec. 12, when Grieger took the ball from sophomore guard Hillary Labis, who averages 25.4 points. Grieger, her teammates and her coach all called it one of the highlights of the season.

“It made me feel good, and the rest of the game, I just kept working hard, and by the end of it, I felt good about what I did that whole game,” Grieger said.

“I stopped her, and I knew I could stop her. I just knew I could get the ball from her no matter what I did.”

When Grieger isn’t forcing turnovers, she’s disrupting passing lanes and getting deflections. She causes the kind of defensive chaos that doesn’t always show up in the box score, a trait that Voudrie said is “refreshing.”

“It motivates everybody a lot when she gets in,” Voudrie said. “She’ll get a big stop, and then everybody will get really excited. The whole bench gets an energy to them. Everyone else is like, ‘Wow, look what Sammie is doing,’ and they start working harder too.”

Boone Grove’s Sammie Grieger, right, guards Calumet’s Harmony Alvarez during a nonconference game in Gary on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (Andy Lavalley / Post-Tribune)

Grieger’s work ethic doesn’t stop when she steps off the court, however. Her approach is the same in running, soccer and school. Balancing soccer and cross country in the fall, she qualified for the regional in the latter sport in October.

“It’s something I’ve built up over time,” Grieger said. “I think about how I can help other people work hard and about where it can get me one day in the future and where it can get me in sports.”

It’s a growth mindset that could pay dividends for Grieger down the road. In the meantime, it may be what ultimately earns her a full-time varsity spot.

“I see Sammie being a big part (of the varsity team) the rest of the year and a big part going into next season,” Simatovich said. “Because my biggest thing has always been that if you want playing time, you want to be on the floor, then you’re going to go out there and work your hardest on the defensive end of the ball, and she’s kind of living that.”

Noah Poser is a freelance reporter.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/14/basketball-boone-grove-sammie-grieger/