Ramblers find stroke in second half, sinking Saints and punching another ticket to state

On a basketball court, the ball going through the net heals a lot of wounds.

That experience on Monday night not only changed the score in Loyola Academy’s favor but also the tempo and tone of the supersectional matchup with St. Charles East in Hoffman Estates.

“You could tell it was affecting us. I see us shoot in practice and that’s very much unlike us” Loyola coach Jeremy Shoenecker said of his team’s first-half shooting woes. ” … Maddie (Locke) hit (a three-pointer), and then a second one, and then (Marycait Mackie) hit one after that. So we had three consecutive threes that really got us going.”

Locke’s first three gave the Ramblers a one-point, third-quarter lead, and they were off and running on a 37-13 burst to finish off a 56-34 victory that punched their ticket to the IHSA Class 4A finals for the third straight year.

Loyola will start the state event at 4:15 p.m. on Friday, March 6, against the surprise of the final four: Rolling Meadows, the fifth seed out of the Schaumburg Sectional that has bested ranked opponents Prospect, Fremd and Carmel in consecutive contests.

After Monday’s victory, Ramblers senior Kaitlyn McGovern accepted the supersectional hardware along with co-captains Mackie and Clare Weasler.

“It’s the best feeling ever. This is what we wanted all season,” McGovern said. “We’ve been working toward it every day. We just wanted it so bad, and it’s so rewarding to get the ticket to go.”

The Ramblers and Saints squared off in a defensive stalemate for more than two quarters.

Loyola was held scoreless for the first four minutes before Locke sank two free throws to make the score 7-2 St. Charles East.

The shooting challenges continued for Loyola through the first half, as its shooters were just 2-of-13 from the three-point line through two quarters.

But their defensive strategy of limiting Saints star Brooklyn Schilb — who scored 32 points in a sectional-championship win on Thursday — was working. With Weasler taking the lead, Schlib was held to 3 points in the first half and just 5 for the game.

“She just loves playing defense,” Schoencker said of Weasler. “She loves locking down the opponent’s best player. … (Schlib) was averaging over 20 points per game in the games we had filmed, and (Weasler) did a tremendous job.”

Weasler and the Ramblers defensive effort provided cover until the offense came around.

That happened in the third quarter.

Locke’s consecutive triples started things off. Mackie (11 points) added one, and McGovern got to work in the paint, scoring six points to put Loyola in front eight, 36-28, headed to the fourth.

To open the final quarter, senior Michaela Burm sank an early three-pointer plus a foul to rile up her teammates and the Ramblers faithful. Burm added another three in the quarter, and McGovern added a pair of corner triples to finish with a game-high 12 points — all in the second half.

“That’s our zone offense, just finding the short corner and open gaps,” McGovern said of finding good looks against the Saints 2-3 zone. “Emily Naraky and I play really well together in the post and short corner so we’re able to find each other really well.

“It’s just all or nothing in this (game). So I’m just leaving it all on the court, making the most of every minute, because nothing is promised in the playoffs.”

McGovern led five Ramblers who scored at least 9 points — Mackie (11 points), Locke (9), Naraky (9) and Burm (9) — as Loyola won its 24th game in a row. They have not lost since before Christmas.

And now Loyola is off to its third straight 4A final four. Loyola placed fourth a year ago and won the state championship in 2024, completing an undefeated season.

The Record is a nonprofit, nonpartisan community newsroom that relies on reader support to fuel its independent local journalism.

Become a member of The Record to fund responsible news coverage for your community.

Already a member? You can make a tax-deductible donation at any time.