Senior Day is an emotionally-charged tradition in the world of high school basketball. Certainly members of the Nazareth Academy girls team, whose roster includes nine seniors, understood this when they took on East Suburban Catholic Conference rival St. Viator on Saturday.
Fortunately for the Roadrunners, their seniors and their fans, Nazareth toughed out a 45-40 victory on Senior Day in LaGrange Park.
“I have nine seniors, and the majority of the playing time comes from our seniors,” Nazareth coach Kimberly Connell said. “I told them, ‘It’s all about senior leadership, keeping our composure and taking care of the ball.’”
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After trailing 18-15 at halftime, St. Viator switched to a zone defense and pulled even at 32-32 at the end of the third quarter. The fourth quarter saw an already physical game become even more so.
With 3:18 remaining and Nazareth leading 36-35, Roadrunner senior Tetre’Anah Cross and St. Viator junior Maddie McAteer went to the ground hard in a scramble for a loose ball. McAteer, St. Viator’s leading scorer with 13 points, left the game to receive medical attention.
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“It was a physical battle, both ways,” Connell said.
Nazareth’s final three field goals came while players were fouled in the act of shooting. With 1:57 remaining, Nazareth senior Juliana Raimondi made a lay-up to increase the lead to 38-35. Thirty seconds later, senior Devinne Love did the same, and with 41.7 seconds to go, Raimondi struck again to up Nazareth’s lead to 42-39.
Unfortunately for the Roadrunners, each player missed her subsequent free throw. Senior Katelyn Cahill ended that drought, making three out of four free throws in the game’s final 16 seconds – two after tumbling to the ground after an intentional foul – to ice the victory.
“I’m proud of the fact that we did keep our composure, amongst the chaos of the calls,” Connell said.
Raimondi led Nazareth with 19 points, while Cross added 12. The Roadrunners return to conference play on Wednesday, when they host Benet Academy at 7:00 p.m.
