Rising sophomore Sophia Towne leads Nazareth past Downers Grove North at Chicagoland Showcase

PALATINE – Two of the best sophomore guards headlined one of the early morning games at Saturday’s Dave Yates Chicagoland Showcase.

One of the guards had already established herself with a prolific freshman season on varsity.

The other guard spent most of her freshman season watching an established team make a run to the Class 4A state championship game.

In front a group of college scouts on Saturday, Downers Grove North point guard Campbell Thulin added to her rapidly growing reputation with another stellar performance.

Meanwhile, Nazareth‘s Sophia Towne, a big name on the AAU circuit, is starting to build her own legacy. She stole the spotlight against the Trojans, scoring a team-high 22 points in a 54-38 victory at Fremd High School.

The Roadrunners (6-1) picked up 10 points from Allia von Schlegell and six points from Stella Sakalas.

“I know I’m biased toward our kids, but I think Sophia is the best 2027 [guard] out there,” Nazareth coach Ed Stritzel said. “She’s a dynamic kid. She played a little bit last year, but we were so deep with seniors. She waited for her time. With Stella, I don’t know if you can get a better 1-2 punch. It’s a different team than the last three years. We’re still trying to figure things out.”

The 5-foot-10 Towne displayed a stellar game way older than her class level, with her ability to find an open teammate, pass the ball in the half court, play strong defense and drill 3-pointers.

Just when the Trojans had whittled the deficit to 45-35 late in the fourth quarter, Towne ignited a game-turning run with a corner 3-pointer, a layup off a turnover and finding Lyla Shelton for a basket during a 52-second whirlwind.

Towne, who has an offer from Harvard, is a key factor in Nazareth’s fast start after losing four foundational players from last season’s Class 4A runner-up.

“I feel it was good last year to watch all of our players,” Towne said. “Now, I know how we should play for Nazareth and learn from my teammates. I didn’t play that much last year, but toward the end I played more. I thought today was good. Last year we lost to them here, so we had good adrenaline. I liked the atmosphere. It felt good to play well here.”

Sakalas said her chemistry with Towne helped the Roadrunners in the fourth quarter.

“Me and Sophia have been playing together for six years, so the pass and screen and the pass and cut, it’s a great connection,” Sakalas said. “It’s a different team. We’re having so much fun, so many kids have been waiting their turn after losing our four starters. It’s the same system but just different kids.”

On the other side, Thulin helped the Trojans (6-1) mount an impressive comeback following a slow start. The Trojans failed to score a point in the first five minutes, but Thulin got hot in the third quarter. She drilled two 3s in the third to end with a team-best 22 points.

Thulin, who has offers from Harvard, Loyola, Valparaiso and Dayton, called Saturday’s loss a good step in the right direction after the Trojans lost several standouts from last season’s 30-win team.

“I think in the second half we definitely picked it up,” Thulin said. “We played stronger and came back right at them. We played better defense, played as a team and produced more.”

Thulin kept the Trojans in the game with her long-range shooting, including drilling a 3 from the corner to slice the deficit to 45-35 with 3:37 remaining. Thulin said she’s adjusting to being the go-to scorer for the Trojans.

“I’m definitely more comfortable and that just comes with playing the game more,” Thulin said. “Last year, my [senior] teammates had my back and were so supportive and welcoming. This year, it’s like my team and I can count on them for having my back. It’s a team thing. We all support each other.”

Downers Grove North coach Stephen Bolt said his team should grow from the tough defeat. Nazareth’s defense bothered the Trojans for most of the game, leading to long scoreless stretches.

“I’m proud of the way our kids competed,” Bolt said. “We’re inexperienced and we looked that. I like where we’re headed. We’re trending in the right direction. We need everyone to be a threat. This was a good test for us.”