Unselfish Ramblers keep on keeping on

As Loyola Academy girls basketball has continued its years-long tear, hiccups for coach Jeremy Schoenecker’s team have been rare.

But the Ramblers saw an 11-0 lead against DePaul College Prep devolve into a deadlocked game at halftime, as their typically stalwart defense opened the door for the Rams.

“We were reaching a lot in the first half,” Schoenecker said. “We were getting sloppy on our closeouts; we weren’t rebounding very well.”

A change was all Loyola needed to get back on track.

Thanks to an effective attack on the Rams’ extended 2-3 zone defense, which brought their center away from the basket, Schoenecker’s visiting squad opened the second half with an 11-2 run, regaining control en route to a 56-41 victory in the powerhouse battle (the teams entered with a combined 30-3 record) on Thursday in Chicago.

Junior Maddie Locke drove a fast start for Loyola (16-2) in the first quarter. She scored eight of the team’s 16 points in the period and proved to be a problem all night for the Rams (15-2) on both ends of the court, finishing with 20 points and multiple steals.

The comfortable lead did not last, though. A 6-0 second quarter run from DePaul quickly helped the hosts tie the game at 29 heading into halftime.

Getting the advantage back was a true team effort. Makes from junior Emily Naraky, senior Clare Weasler, senior Alison Banaszek and Locke fueled the Ramblers’ 14-point third quarter.

Loyola’s shots were falling from all over the court, as Weasler and Banaszek each connected from beyond the arc with less than three minutes to go in the quarter.

The Ramblers’ offensive success was powered by ball movement, an element of Loyola’s game Schoenecker said he is particularly proud of.

Proving the point, with just over three minutes remaining in the first quarter, Loyola senior Marycait Mackie faced heavy on-ball pressure from a defender but found an opening to make a one-armed bounce pass to Locke, who took care of business in the low post.

In another impressive display of teamwork, on an inbound in the fourth quarter, Locke lobbed the ball to Naraky under the basket, resulting in an acrobatic, behind-the-back layup that put the game out of reach.

“We’re lucky enough to have five unselfish players,” Schoenecker said. “They don’t care who scores 20, they don’t care who scores 10. They just want to win the basketball game. That’s a testament to the sort of girls in our program. They’re super excited about this win.”

Loyola’s third-quarter defense was equally impressive, only allowing four points.

DePaul got within six points with four minutes to play, but the Ramblers used that ball movement to draw fouls and burn clock, holding on for the win.

Following Locke on the scoresheet were Mackie with 12 points and Naraky with 10. Weasler, a four-year varsity captain along with Mackie, chipped in 7.

Loyola returns to the hardwood Saturday against Montini Catholic.

Lookahead

In the final month of the regular season, Loyola cannot ask for a much better position to be in. The Ramblers are coming off a championship in their Loyola Christmas Tournament and are riding a seven-game winning streak.

For Schoenecker, keeping that momentum going is about limiting mistakes and playing with the right mindset.

“You have to play everybody like it’s DePaul or Naperville Central or anybody else that we’re playing,” Schoenecker said. “I think for us it’s just realizing every opponent is getting after us. If you have any hiccups, they are going to let some teams back into the GCAC seeding and the sectional seeding as well.”

The Ramblers continue to be effective on both sides of the court, and on Thursday they displayed their diverse offense and suffocating defense.

If Loyola did have an Achilles heel, though, Schoenecker said it’s their defensive rebounding.

“We’re a really good offensive rebounding team,” Schoenecker said. “I think defensively, we’re really struggling to finish off teams. One shot, one-shot-only mentality, which we keep stressing every day in practice.”

Regardless, the Ramblers continue to stack big wins, including victories this week against fellow state-ranked teams Naperville Central and DePaul.

Schoenecker thinks belief is the key to his team’s key victories, and his team is only getting started.

“We had such a great run the last two years, even the year before that, losing in the supersectional,” Schoenecker said. “It’s a new team, new players. Even though Marycait [Mackie] and [Clare Weasler] have been with us for four years, we’re trying to figure out what makes us good. I think we’re really starting to figure that out.”

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