It was the first big showdown of the new year, and visiting Nazareth was ready to go Wednesday night against Carmel in a battle between two of the top girls basketball teams in the East Suburban Catholic Conference.

The Roadrunners (13-3, 2-1) started off fast as they took a 10-3 lead after one quarter and a 27-11 halftime lead over the Corsairs, who were unable to penetrate Nazareth’s 2-3 zone defense.

Carmel (12-5, 4-1) struggled to mount much of a comeback after that point as the Roadrunners took a commanding 40-18 lead into the fourth quarter before posting a convincing 46-23 ESCC victory. Nazareth’s only loss in the conference so far was to powerhouse squad Benet on Dec. 13.

BYU-bound senior Stella Sakalas (game-high 21 points, 14 rebounds) got the Roadrunners rolling from the outset on Wednesday as she scored 15 points in the first half to put the Corsairs behind the eight-ball.

A 3-pointer by Carmel freshman Liv Johnson (team-high eight points) just before the halftime buzzer cut Nazareth’s lead to 16 points at the intermission.

But the Roadrunners were relentless in the third quarter as a rebound basket by freshman Mia Gage (12 points, 10 rebounds) and a 3-pointer by Sakalas gave them their biggest lead of the game at 36-13 with 5:20 left in the period.

“It’s all our chemistry on the court. We play together with each other and for each other,” Sakalas said. “The 2-3 defense is our calling card, and we stick to that and we just guard our man and stick to the program.”

Nazareth junior Sophia Towne also hit double figures with 10 points, including two 3-pointers in the first half. Carmel teammates Josie Hartman and Ada Lindal scored five points apiece.

“We just got back from playing some elite prep schools in Florida, we went 1-2, and I thought it was a great experience for us where we learned a lot in Florida and it carried over into tonight,” Nazareth coach Ed Stritzel said.

“We know how great Liv Johnson is and we just wanted to make her earn everything she got. Stella is remarkable, she’s had an amazing career for us, she was player of the year in our conference last year, and she’s going to BYU next year.”

The Corsairs could never recover from their slow start, but overall, coach Ben Berg was pleased with their effort in the second half.

“I think we learned a few lessons tonight so hopefully we take some things from that and I thought in the second half we came out and fought harder,” said Berg.

“It was a tournament-type atmosphere, it was a physical game, and that is what they are going to see come February. She (Sakalas) is a four-year starter for them, she’s going to BYU, and she’s as good as advertised. I thought we did a little better job on her in the second half, but she’s a great player.”