After a long and successful season with an impressive 23-2 record, the JV Girls’ Basketball team are GCAC Conference Tournament champions! The girls brought home the win on January 31st, defeating Loyola Academy 30-24.
Leading the team is Head Coach Sandra Nagowska and Assistant Coach Courtney Gingerich. Gingerich is in her fourth year coaching girls’ basketball; this year marks Nagowska’s thirteenth year coaching, and her fifth year coaching at DePaul Prep.
This isn’t the first win for the pair: they have two previous GCAC titles under their belt with a win in 2022, and a first-rank title in 2021.
Nagowska is a very accomplished player herself, with experience ranging from fourth grade to her college team at York University, in Toronto, Canada. Gingerich shares similar experience, having played from childhood through to her intramural team in college.
Gingerich especially enjoys coaching because, “being a teacher and a coach… it helps to have better relationships outside of the classroom too, and it just makes it a little more fluid.”
Likewise, Nagowska “had a lot of really amazing coaches growing up,” and realized how much that helped her as a person. She became a coach to, “give the younger girls an opportunity to have what [she] had.”
As Gingerich put it, both coaches “have a clear passion for the game.” When speaking on this commitment, Nagowska noted that, “if you’re going to commit to coaching a basketball season, ball is life, so you have to love the game.”
Throughout the season, Nagowska and Gingerich have proved to be an unstoppable duo on the court. With similar coaching philosophies, the two led their team to numerous wins along the way, including victories over Lane Tech, Trinity, Taft, and several others leading up to the championship game against Loyola Academy.
As stated by sophomore Kaitlin Reap, “The most memorable part of the season was definitely winning the Championship… we had such a great fan base, which really helped to motivate and encourage us in our final game.”
“Earlier in the season, we had a tough loss to Loyola by only a few points… coming back in the championship and winning was definitely very meaningful,” says sophomore Maggie Bordes.
With just the right balance of talent, athleticism, and strong coaching, this year’s team is stronger than ever. The girls have all shown an immense amount of dedication to the sport, traveling to Northeastern University nearly every day for two-hour practices. This lively setting is, “a good challenge for [them], and it really challenges the girls to focus on the court… we’re thankful for what we have” says Nagowska.
Practices are generally broken down into small drills, which progress into bigger drills and skill-focused work; additionally, the coaches make conditioning a priority. From her own playing experience, Nagowska knows that, “…the most important thing is to be conditioned, at this level especially,” Gingerich adding that it, “…helps with the mental game as well.”
The players themselves made huge progress during the course of the season, with Nagowska commenting that one of the best parts of coaching is seeing how much the girls have developed. One specific turning point for the team was the Christmas Tournament, where they placed second overall – this game brought the team together, with the players going from an individual to a team-focused mindset; Gingerich expressed that seeing the growth in every player was extremely impactful for the coaches.
Sophomore Lucia Trautman wants to continue this progress next season, saying, “…we all want to improve on becoming more confident as players, and more confident in our skills; we also want to grow as teammates and individuals.”
The pride that both the players and coaches feel for this team is unmistakable. Nagowska reflected on the season, saying, “I’m so proud of the girls, and I’m so happy that they’re able to have a championship, because I know how that felt when I was a player… I’m glad we could be a part of their process,”
As Gingerich said, “It’s a core memory… you always remember that your entire life.”