Sophia Towne stars as Nazareth wins first IHSA Class 4A state championship: 'She just won't lose'

NORMAL — On Nazareth’s first possession of the second half, Roadrunners junior guard Sophia Towne caught the ball on the left side of the court with her feet firmly on the IHSA logo.

As soon as the ball hit Towne’s fingertips, she went into her shooting motion and made a three-pointer. Towne was in control Saturday with her scoring and passing. Her ability to draw in a defense to open up a passing window for her teammates was impressive.

Her flair draws audible reactions from the crowd. And when her shots are falling or her teammates are thriving, there’s always a wide grin on her face.

Towne had a lot to smile about after the Roadrunners’ dominant 55-23 Class 4A state championship win over Loyola. It’s the Roadrunners’ first 4A state title.

Towne told Roadrunners coach Ed Stritzel that they weren’t losing, and she fulfilled her promise with a 17-point, five-assist performance.

“We’ve been waiting all year for this,” Towne said. “We were so close [last season], so we always had [being in the state championship] in the back of our minds. ‘Peak in March’ is what we always say, and once the time came, we all knew we were not losing this game.”

Nazareth star forward Stella Sakalas drew the headlines all season, but she was plagued by foul trouble. Stritzel has been adamant that the Roadrunners are more than a one-player team, and it showed in the biggest game of the season.

Freshman standout Mia Gage had 11 points, five rebounds and five steals, and junior forward Sam Austin scored seven points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Senior guard Lyla Shelton added eight points.

Loyola had no answer for Towne off the dribble. After Sakalas picked up her third foul with 3:58 left in the first half, Towne continued to lead the charge.

“She just won’t lose,” Stritzel said. “[All day], she was like, ‘We’re bringing this home.’ ’’

Sakalas is one of the best players in the state and has proved it all season. Her foul trouble would’ve been a death sentence for most teams, but not for the Roadrunners. They not only maintained the lead but added to it, asserting their dominance.

“Loyola is a really good team, but I think we showed everybody in the state that we’re the best team in Illinois,” Stritzel said.

Whether it was Gage picking off passes and going coast-to-coast, Towne making deep threes and assisting her teammates or Austin being a force on the glass, Nazareth (34-3) simply had too many weapons in the wire-to-wire victory.

After allowing 11 points in the first quarter, the Roadrunners held the Ramblers to two, four and six points in the last three quarters. Gage was the key in holding Loyola to its lowest scoring output of the season.

“I wanted this for my seniors so bad . . . just as bad as they wanted it,” Gage said.

With a 4A title win under their belts, the Roadrunners aren’t going anywhere with Towne, Austin and Gage returning next season.

“The second half of the season prepared us for these moments,” Towne said. “When the time comes, if you want to win, you want to win.”