Girls Basketball: Grace Carstensen makes grand return from injury, leads Nazareth to ESCC tournament title

LA GRANGE PARK – A hush came over the crowd when Nazareth guard Grace Carstensen sprained her ankle late in the first quarter of the East Suburban Catholic Conference Tournament title game against Carmel on Feb. 5.

The 6-foot junior lay on the court wincing in pain for several minutes before being helped to the bench.

But Carstensen missed only 88 seconds of action before checking back in to start the second quarter. She promptly sank three 3-pointers.

“When I saw her on the floor, I was like, ‘Oh, no,’ ” Nazareth forward Danielle Scully said. “We were all in shock and I was like, ‘Please don’t be a serious injury.’

“Of course, she comes out and bangs those 3s. That’s normal Gracie for you. Tough kid.”

Carstensen’s return and Scully’s gritty play in the paint helped fuel the host Roadrunners to a 58-47 victory. They offset big games from Carmel stars Jordan Wood and Grace Sullivan with a balanced offense and tough defense, a formula that opponents know all too well.

“They share the ball so well and they run their sets,” Carmel coach Ben Berg said. “They’re very disciplined and they make you work for every stop you get.”

This wasn’t the first time Carstensen had rolled her left ankle and some pain was not going to stop her from helping her team to victory.

“You just want to be back in there,” Carstensen said. “You don’t want to leave your team, even though you’re hurt. Just limp around, help wherever you can.”

Carstensen did more than limp around. As she has done since she was in sixth grade, she shot around earlier in the day with her father, Curt, who is her designated rebounder, and was feeling in a good rhythm.

Carstensen had made her first attempt, a go-ahead 3-pointer at the 5:25 mark of the first quarter, so she still had confidence after the injury. Her first attempt after returning was an air ball, but she was not deterred.

“I was feeling good, sprained ankle and all,” Carstensen said. “I said, ‘Just get me the ball because I’m going to knock these down.’”

And she did. After the Michigan State-bound Wood took a pass from Sullivan and sank a 3-pointer to give Carmel (20-7) a 21-17 lead, Carstensen drained back-to-back treys. Sophomores Olivia Austin and Amalia Dray followed with steals and layups to end the first half.

It was the start of a 15-0 run that included Scully hitting a 3 and Dray scoring on a drive to give the Roadrunners (25-2) a 32-21 lead.

“I thought their run at the end of the first half was big because that gave them a little bit of a cushion and we were chasing after that, which is a little bit hard,” Berg said. “But I was proud of how the girls fought in the second half.”

The 6-foot-5 Wood had an enormous game, leading all players with 22 points and 14 rebounds. Sullivan, a Bucknell recruit, shook off foul trouble and contributed 15 points, seven boards and four assists.

Sophomore Ashley Schlabowske, whose three free throws with 1.8 seconds left lifted Carmel to a 46-45 upset of top-seeded Benet in the semifinals Feb. 2, sank both ends of a 1-and-1 to pull the Corsairs to within 51-45 with 1:52 left in the game.

Carmel had a chance to get even closer, but Austin blocked a shot and fed Scully for a transition layup. Austin also assisted on Carstensen’s 3-point play with 44.5 seconds left that bumped the lead to 56-45.

Scully, who shared team-high honors with Carstensen with 15 points, shot just 6 of 18 while battling Wood and Sullivan, but had seven points in the fourth quarter to go with seven rebounds and three steals.

Reflecting Nazareth’s balance, Dray finished with 12 points, five steals, five assists and four rebounds, while Austin chipped in 11 points, six boards and three assists.

“We’re really hard to guard because all of us can score,” Carstensen said. “It’s such an advantage and it puts us ahead of a lot of teams, I think.”

Nazareth is ranked No. 1 in the latest Class 3A MaxPreps rankings. The state playoffs begin Feb. 14.

“I think we’re going with good momentum into the playoffs,” Carstensen said. “We’re all really excited.”