HUNTLEY – Haley Ream never has been short on words, gifted with both a keen sense of timing and knowing precisely the right thing to say.

Her locker room speeches can be uplifting on one occasion and then intensely harsh at others, building off whatever emotion the situation calls for at the time. Playing through a three-year varsity career lends plenty of experience to the senior captain’s voice.

But over the course of what’s turned into a historic season, Ream has become her team’s voice of reason, even if that means her temporarily stepping out of her comfort zone. If Ream ever comes close to getting in her teammates’ face as she did at halftime of Huntley’s supersectional victory over Wheaton Warrenville South on Monday night, it’s only because she wants so much out of her final postseason tournament run.