Mia Gage, Nazareth win state title
NORMAL, Ill. — Nazareth’s Mia Gage drove to the basket, was fouled and made two free throws. She then got a steal and went coast-to-coast for a layup.
That burst during the Class 4A state championship game against Loyola on Saturday night was nothing new for the 6-foot freshman guard.
“Mia has been so good all season,” Nazareth junior guard Sophia Towne said. “We’ve invested so much in her, but she’s done so much for us. We always forget she’s a freshman because of everything she does.”
What Gage did early in the second quarter sparked a 16-0 run, and the Roadrunners went from there to win 55-23 and win their second state title.
Gage finished with 11 points, five rebounds and five steals, while Towne scored a game-high 17.
“The fact that she can go out there and play her game and be able to put on a performance like that is amazing,” Nazareth senior forward Stella Sakalas said of Gage.
Gage, who already has three offers, including one from DePaul, credited her teammates.
“Knowing that they were there for me and that I could lean on them when the game got tough helped me a lot,” she said. “We know we have five people who can defend, and that if I make a mistake, someone is going to help me come back. If I don’t get that steal, it doesn’t matter because my teammates are there to help me.”
The Roadrunners (34-4), who scored 40 of the last 50 points against Loyola (35-2), also won the Class 3A state title in 2023 when Sakalas was a freshman.
Independent journalist Matt Le Cren contributed. This story will be updated.
