Most chants from the student section aren’t that creative. Many chants either don’t make sense or are tone-deaf, except for this one: “She’s a baby!”
That chant came from the Nazareth student section when forward Olivia Austin scored two of her 16 points. Yes, the Roadrunners have size. Yes, they punish teams who can’t match their size advantage.
But the Roadrunners’ posts aren’t of the traditional back-to-the-basket variety. Coach Ed Stritzel repeatedly says his team’s best ball handler is 6-1 forward Danielle Scully.
6-1 sophomore Stella Sakalas can shoot the three as easily as she blocks a shot. Against an opponent that wanted to speed the game up, the Roadrunners (32-3) obliged in their 69-44 IHSA Class 4A state semifinals win over Waubonsie Valley (32-4).
“If we’ve done anything right as a coaching staff, we plan out our schedule,” Stritzel said. “Not just the strength of schedule, but the different styles of play. We’ve seen about everything that we can play against.”
What has helped the Roadrunners is a looser approach from Stritzel. He said he promised to coach looser, and they would play more freely.
“They’ve done everything I asked,” Stritzel said. “It’s a special group.”
Senior guard Amalia Dray had one of the better shooting days of her season — shooting 6-for-12 from the three-point line. Her 25-point performance is symbolic of the unselfish nature of this talented team.
“I want my shot to be able to peak today and tomorrow,” said Dray, who is a Boston College soccer commit ."My team did a great job finding me when I was hitting.”
That’s how Nazareth has been so successful this season. They not only have the talent, but it meshes well with each other in a cohesive manner.
Take the forwards, Scully and senior Olivia Austin. The two know how to work well in transition to free up the other.
“It’s really good [playing] with Olivia and Stella and how we can play either position on the floor,” Scully said. “We can change up the plays if one person is in.”
After capturing the Class 3A state championship last season, the Roadrunners moved up to Class 4A with the goal of winning on that level. Instead of defending their crown, they’re pursuing a new one.
“We knew we were going to 4A last year, and — to my knowledge — no team has ever won 3A and then 4A, so I think what it did was take the pressure off us,” Stritzel said.
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.
