Defending state champion Nazareth learning to deal with pressure, want to make history

The Nazareth Roadrunners are learning to deal with every team’s best shot as the defending state champions. | Allen Cunningham/For the Sun-Times

Chicago Sun Times

To understand Nazareth’s season this year, you must look back to last season when the Roadrunners won the Class 3A state finals.

After that game, the Roadrunners bid adieu to Grace Carstensen — who plays college basketball at DePaul —but knew they would return the bulk of last year’s roster. This season, they’re at the top of the food chain. There aren’t any days off for the Roadrunners.

“We say before every game that we’re every team’s Super Bowl,” said senior forward Danielle Scully, who finished with 10 points. “It’s hard because we don’t really get a break, but it’s awesome for us to grow as players and as people.”

Against Evanston on Saturday, the Roadrunners took the Wildkits’ best shot and didn’t flinch. Every run had an answer. The team never lost its composure and handled its business in a 65-39 win over Evanston (9-12).

Nazareth took a couple of lumps with two early-season losses and a loss against IMG Academy, but this veteran group has been crowned champions before. They’ve experienced the gauntlet of the state playoffs and faced stiff competition this season.

What makes the Roadrunners dangerous is their malleability: They can shift the lineup depending on what the game calls for because of how deep and talented their roster is.

“We can play the fast game, we can play the small game, and that’s going to help us get well in the playoffs,” Roadrunners coach Edward Stritzel said.

The Roadrunners are loaded with talent. Scully is a 6-1 forward with the ball-handling skills to play on the perimeter and the post skills to score in the post. Sophomore forward Stella Sakalas is one of the most underrated players in the state. Sophomore forward Jane Manecke came off the bench and scored 10 points.

“We made a slight adjustment this year — letting Danielle play with the ball in her hands —and she loves that position,” Stritzel said. “She’s such a good passer, and it’s hard for other teams because the big kids have to guard her because she’s so strong and can handle like a point guard.”

Sakalas is one of the most underrated players in the state. The standout sophomore is working with her assistant coaches to learn how to play on the perimeter. Her development elevates the team’s ceiling.

“You can’t just be a perimeter player,” said Sakalas, who finished with a team-high 16 points. “You have to learn the skills at that position, so that’s what I’ve been doing over the season.”

The Roadrunners, now competing in Class 4A, are set on being the first school to win state championships in both classes in back-to-back years.

“That’s our mission,” Strizel said. “We want to get it and the girls are hungry for it. I think that’s really helped us focus. We want to make history with this team.”

Kyle Williams is a staff reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times via Report for America, a not-for-profit journalism program that aims to bolster the paper’s coverage of communities on the South Side and West Side.

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