La Grange Park has a state champion. On Saturday, March 7, 2026, the Nazareth Academy Roadrunners girls basketball team beat Loyola Academy 55-23 to win the IHSA Class 4A State Championship — their first ever at this level.
The Biggest Blowout in 4A History
It wasn't a win so much as a dismantling — by the largest margin in Class 4A title game history, according to Shaw Local. Nazareth shot 44% from the field, drained eight three-pointers, and went a perfect 7-for-7 from the free-throw line. Loyola — one of the best teams in Illinois — could only manage 23% shooting and scored just two points in the entire second quarter.
Nazareth led 26-13 at halftime. Between the second and third quarters, a 16-0 run created a lead Loyola couldn't come back from.
Sophia Towne Lights It Up
Junior guard Sophia Towne was the star of the night. She scored a game-high 17 points, going 6-for-10 from the field and draining four three-pointers. Towne had been telling head coach Eddie Stritzel all day that the Roadrunners were not going to lose.
"You want to believe her," Stritzel told Shaw Local, "but Loyola is such a good team."
She was right. Towne averaged 11.1 points per game all season long.
Freshman forward Mia Gage was huge, too. She scored 11 points and grabbed 5 rebounds. Gage averaged 10.6 points and 6.8 rebounds per game all year.
Senior forward Stella Sakalas — a BYU recruit who averaged 18.1 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game — was the engine all season. In the state semifinal on March 6, she put on a show against Belleville East, scoring 30 points on 13-of-17 shooting in a 54-36 Nazareth win. Senior guard Lyla Shelton (10.4 PPG) and junior center Samantha Austin also played key roles throughout the run.
A Season to Remember
Nazareth finished the year 33-3, with an 11-1 conference record. The Roadrunners went on a remarkable postseason run:
- March 2 — Beat Waubonsie Valley 54-42 in the Class 4A Supersectional, hosted right here at Lyons Township High School in La Grange
- March 6 — Beat Belleville East 54-36 in the state semifinal at CEFCU Arena in Normal
It was Nazareth's sixth trip to the state finals in eight non-COVID seasons and their second IHSA state championship overall — and their first ever at the Class 4A level.
"It means the world," Sakalas told Southwest Regional Publishing after the supersectional win. "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 and playing the sport that we love."
