There are hot starts, and then there’s what the Nazareth girls basketball team is off to this year.

Following Wednesday night’s 68-32 demolishing of Joliet Catholic, the Roadrunners are now 8-0 on the season. Their closest contest was a 15-point victory over Hononegah.

Their next closest game? A 53-19 drudging of Huntley to open the season. Nazareth had two players reach double-figures in scoring Wednesday before JCA hit double-figures as a team.

“I’m very fortunate that this is a great group of kids that are very self-motivated,” Nazareth coach Ed Stritzel said. “I don’t have to do a lot of the motivating. They want to be great, they share the ball, and they just love playing with each other.

“I’m very lucky for that.”

Wednesday night was no different.

The Roadrunners had 11 points before JCA had any. Stella Sakalas went on an 8-2 run by herself in the first quarter. The Angels needed nearly three minutes to get their first basket of the night when Emma Napier made a layup. Nazareth led 24-9 through one.

The second quarter was even more dominant for Nazareth. Less than a minute in, Sakalas had 10 points and three steals while the Angels were still sitting on nine total points. Mia Gage also reached 10 points before the Angels did.

JCA’s first points of the quarter didn’t come until the midway point, when Symone Holman scored on a layup. The Angels trailed 46-15 after 16 minutes.

Even with reserves playing much of the second half, things never got easier for JCA. They trailed 62-24 after three before the clock ran in the fourth.

Of course, this shouldn’t be too surprising to those who follow the Roadrunners. They’ve made it to state five of the last eight years, winning it all in 2023 while finishing second three times. They went 31-3 last season and only lost to eventual 4A state champion Kenwood by one in the sectional semis. Kenwood only had one other postseason game within single digits.

“We thought we were close last year,” Stritzel said. “We brought everybody back, and we have two freshmen in (Gage) and (Hillary Whorlow) who are big kids. We’re more experienced, and we have some really good size. We knew we’d be pretty good this year, and things are starting to jell.”

Gage led all scorers with 19 points, while Sakalas was just behind her with 17. Sophia Towne added 13, and Macy Polito knocked down a trio of three-pointers.

Sakalas, a BYU commit, credited JCA for their competitiveness.

“We don’t overlook anyone,” the senior said. “No matter the record, no matter the team, we’re treating every game like the biggest game we’ll play. ... Working together is huge for us.”

Joliet Catholic (3-5) was led by Makenzie Keltz with 11 points. Coach Matthew Adler praised his group for fighting through the fourth quarter and finding little victories in the defeat.

“The goal from the beginning has been to compete, stay focused and play possession to possession,” Adler said. “There’s no denying (Nazareth) is a top-three team at any level. ... We have to find a way to find success, and sometimes success comes in different forms.

“Competing, fighting for 50-50 balls, trusting in each other when things are going tough. Those are the successful moments. I think the girls did a pretty good job in finding those successful moments and in pushing each other to not give up.”