Rivalry games in high school bring a different energy. The student sections travel — the Ramblers section dressed in maroon clothing, the Wolfpack section decked out in Christmas attire — and the intensity is palpable.
Add in the college arena venue and you have an energy that is hard to match. Loyola and St. Ignatius meet in the Jesuit Cup annually. Last year, the game was played at the high school. This year, Gentile Arena was the home for the rivalry game.
Loyola lost the cup last season and played like they didn’t forget it —notably the seniors.
Loyola guard Paige Engels leaped near half court for a steal that led to a three-pointer for the Ramblers, a harbinger of the night to come.
“It definitely made the game a little easier,” Engels said. “We like to speed up other teams and force them to turn the ball over, and then we just get easy transition points out of it and are able to go on big runs.”
The Ramblers took back the cup in their 63-37 win over St. Ignatius with a relentless defense that forced a plethora of Wolfpack turnovers in the first half.
“Our defense makes us have a better offense,” Ramblers guard Kelsey Langston said. We know we can lean back on our defense most nights.”
Engels finished with 11 points and three rebounds. The Cornell commit is part of a talented senior class with guards Morgan Bruno — she finished with 11 points — and Langston. Their experience helped them anticipate what they needed to do to win this game.
“They took pride in getting the cup back,” Loyola coach Jeremy Schoenecker said. “They were bummed that we didn’t win the game last year. Between Kelsey, Paige and Morgan, they’ve been with us for almost 80 games in their career, so they knew what it would take to win this game.”
Loyola’s goal from the outset was to prevent St. Ignatius from getting clean looks. They didn’t want their shooters to get comfortable.
“We wanted to make sure that Audrey Mahoney for them doesn’t just catch-and-shoot the basketball,” Schoenecker said. “We tried to limit them in their half-court sets.”
Mahoney was held scoreless in the game, so the strategy proved effective. But the ball was humming for the Ramblers when their defense wasn’t sparking their offense. Every set was run with precision. Every cut was rewarded with a pass.
“We just get along so well off the court that it makes our chemistry on the court come so easily,” Engels said. “No one’s selfish, and everyone’s doing what’s best for the team; it just makes it a really fun experience.”
Ramblers’ guard Aubrey Galvin provided her usual ball-handling wizardry. She finished with 16 points, three rebounds numerous “oohs and aahs” from the crowd. In the third quarter, Galvin caught her defender off-balanced and found Grace Bronski underneath the rim for a reverse layup.
When the Wolfpack switched to a zone defense, Loyola didn’t settle for jumpers. Instead, they attacked the openings.
Galvin and Engels were the biggest proponents of that attacking mentality. The drive-and-kick served Loyola well as six different players knocked down a three-pointer.
St. Ignatius (4-4, 2-1) forward Reganne Reardon led the Wolfpack with 15 points.
Loyola (9-0, 3-0) has already played some of the toughest teams and on two college courts. Langston — who finished with 11 points and four rebounds — said she enjoyed the environment with the student section and the marching band, plus the opportunity to play on a college court. Oh, and winning the Jesuit Cup back wasn’t bad, either.
“We’ve been thinking about it for a full year, so it’s nice to have it finally back where it belongs,” Langston said.
Kyle Williams is a staff reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times via Report for America, a not-for-profit journalism program that aims to bolster the paper’s coverage of communities on the South Side and West Side.
