Girls basketball defeated the Nazareth Academy Roadrunners 44-40 in the IHSA Class 4A Basketball Championship. This leaves the Ramblers with a State title and a completely undefeated 38-0 season.
The Roadrunners end with a 32-4 season with an over twenty-game win streak leading up to the state finals against the Ramblers.
The Roadrunners did not make it easy, with three girls (Olivia Austin, Danielle Scully, and Stella Sakalas) over 6 feet on the court, challenging the Ramblers offensively during the first half.
Although the Ramblers were first to score on the court after a layup from All-State Senior guard Paige Engels, the lead was short-lived after the Roadrunners responded with a 8-0 run during the first quarter.
Senior Olivia Austin and sophomore Stella Sakalas for the Roadrunners scored 6 points each during the first quarter.
Austin and Sakalas led their team in points with 16 points each during the game.
The first quarter ended with the Roadrunners leading 15-11 over the Ramblers.
The second quarter was more of the same, with the Ramblers only scoring six points throughout the quarter with three points from Engels and three points from sophomore Marycait Mackie.
The Roadrunners scored 10 in the second quarter, 6 points coming from Austin and four coming from Sakalas.
Engels said “When we were in the locker room at halftime, we still had so much confidence… I feel like every time we’re in these situations we stay calm.”
The third quarter is where the Ramblers shined. They outscored the Roadrunners 15-2 with junior Aubrey Galvan scoring 7 points, senior Paige Engels with 5 points, and senior Kelsey Langston with a three-pointer turning a 17-25 score at the half into a 28-25 comeback to take the lead.
Head Coach Jeremy Schoenecker said, “We just didn’t attack it very well in the first half… Aubrey (Galvan) just did her thing a little bit in the third quarter as well.”
Galvan was a major asset to the team throughout the championship, with 15 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals in the game. Galvan said, “I think it all came from half time… we all had the confidence in each other and trust in each other to bring us back.”
The Ramblers entered the fourth quarter with a 32-27 lead, but the Roadrunners responded with a 5-0 run to tie the game up 32-32.
Engels reached four fouls with around 6 minutes left to go in the game, but that did not rattle her. She drilled another three-pointer to give the Ramblers the lead once more.
Engels led the Ramblers with a team-high 17 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and two steals throughout the state game.
Galvan made a clutch layup to extend the lead 37-34. Roadrunners’ Austin scored once again making the score 37-36. Then, The Ramblers extended the lead 39-36 with another layup from Engels.
With 39 seconds to go, Sophomore Clare Weasler, who was scoreless during the entirety of the game, made both of her free throws adding to the Ramblers lead further: 41-36.
Weasler hurt her tailbone after being fouled playing against Fremd in the Semi-Final game the night before, but she certainly stepped up to secure the win for the Ramblers.
The Roadrunners began to foul to put time on the clock, but their technique allowed free throws from Langston and Engels to secure the win for the Ramblers, with a score of 44-40 over the Roadrunners.
Loyola finished making 14 of 33 shots including 7 of the 19 from behind the arch, while Nazareth made 16 of the 31 shots, but only 2 of the 14 shots for a three-pointer.
