Nazareth's defense intensifies late in IHSA Class 4A super-sectional win over Waubonsie Valley

It was a bit of déjà vu for Nazareth.

The Roadrunners, once again, were on the floor at Lyons with a trip to the IHSA Class 4A state semifinals. Though the team discussed last year’s loss to Kenwood — the eventual 4A state champions — they didn’t dwell on it. The coaches addressed it once but noted that this year’s team is different from last year’s.

One separator between last year’s team and this year’s is that Nazareth is headed to the 4A state semifinals after knocking off Waubonsie Valley 54-42. The Roadrunners are advancing to Bloomington-Normal for the third time in four years. They’ll play Bellville East on Friday.

“It means the world,” said forward Stella Sakalas, who scored nine points and grabbed 11 rebounds. “I've been playing with some of these girls since fifth grade, so this is such a full-circle moment, getting to go down to Illinois State.”

Nazareth (31-3) jumped out to a 14-3 lead, but the Warriors responded in the second quarter to tie the game 25-25 at halftime. Junior guard Sophia Towne and senior guard Lyla Shelton were key in helping the Roadrunners maintain pace with Waubonsie Valley. Shelton scored eight of her game-high 18 points in the second quarter. Towne provided a three-pointer in the quarter.

Sakalas, a BYU commit, draws a lot of attention from opponents. They gear their defense towards stopping or containing her, but Nazareth isn’t offensively inept without Sakalas. The Roadrunners have multiple players who can contribute on any given night.

“Them stepping up and making these big shots is exactly what they want to do,” Sakalas said of Towne and Shelton.

In the fourth quarter, Nazareth played flawlessly. The Roadrunners executed their offense and completely disrupted the Warriors’ offensive attack with their zone defense. The Warriors scored six points in the fourth quarter and turned the ball over six times.

“Our defense just really intensified in the last quarter, which got our offense moving,” said Towne, who scored 17 points. “We really prioritized our defense in practice. Once we get those steals and fastbreaks, that's when we really make our breakthrough on offense against teams.”

Waubonsie’s 42 points were a season low. Illinois State recruit Danyella Mporokoso scored nine points, senior guard Elliana Morris added 12 points and junior guard Maya Pereda scored 12 points. Nazareth doubled Mporokoso often, ensuring she didn’t catch fire and got one of her patented scoring runs.

“Waubonsie is an incredible team, so we knew it was going to be a game, and we just figured we had to get them off the three-point line,” Sakalas said. “We stuck to our defense, and we stuck to our gameplan, and I think that's what pulled it out for us.”

Junior guard Molly Moore was disruptive at the point of attack, hounding Warriors players and creating turnovers with her ball pressure. Junior forward Sam Austin scored five points and grabbed nine rebounds. She’s one of Nazareth’s unsung heroes with her ability to impact the game without needing the ball.

The collective effort has Nazareth right where it wants to be as one of the four teams vying for a state championship in the last week of the season. The road to get there was challenging — the Roadrunners beat Young, St. Ignatius and Downers Grove North — but it prepared the Roadrunners for what will be their most important game of the season on Friday.

“This is our goal,” Sakalas said. “This is what everybody works for from that first day of practice.”