Midway through the first quarter, St. Ignatius forward Reganne Reardon leaped and caught a pass high above her head. She turned and took a couple of dribbles before executing a gorgeous spin move for an and-one.
It was a good night for Reardon and the Wolfpack as they won 51-17 in their win against Fenwick. Reardon, who’s committed to the Army, is a remarkable talent. She caught most passes thrown her way and showed she could create for herself and others while also protecting the rim.
“Reganne’s a really special player,” coach Cara Doyle said. “She really worked on her game. She came in freshman year pretty raw, and she’s put so much work into it, and you can see it on the floor with the confidence she plays with as a senior.”
Reardon is the catalyst for the Wolfpack, but what makes the team formidable is how everyone knows their role and tries to execute it. Her teammates love throwing the ball to her and working off the attention she garners. Not many 6-1 forwards in the area are as dynamic as Reardon.
On one possession, Reardon was near halfcourt and whipped a pass to senior guard Margaret Helms, who converted the layup with her left hand. With 2:02 left in the second quarter and the Wolfpack inbounding from their baseline, Reardon held out her left hand as a target for Helms to throw to before quickly darting right and finishing with her right hand after an impressive feed from Helms.
Reardon, who scored 17 points, is an impressive player, but what made the Wolfpack a formidable team is their commitment to the defensive end. St. Ignatius (5-0) cut off driving lanes, effectively switched and forced Fenwick into turnover after turnover after turnover. Senior guard Sally Kennedy — who scored 10 points — set the tone for the Wolfpack defensively. She had the important task of guarding Fenwick’s Cammie Molis, one of the state’s best shooters.
“Sally shut down number fifteen,” Reardon said. “We’ve been practicing on talking on defense, switching and being there for each other.”
Kennedy and Reardon have been playing with each other since fifth grade, so they’re adept at communicating with each other. Kennedy said having Reardon in her ear was helpful, telling her when to switch or step up on defense. Though she took on the matchup, it was a team effort to play the type of tenacious defense the Wolfpack displayed on Tuesday — the Wolfpack didn’t allow the Friars (3-3) to score double-digit points in any quarter.
“We pride ourselves on being a strong defensive team because you can always pack your defense in your bag, especially on the road,” Doyle said. “Sometimes shots don’t fall, and sometimes it’s not your night, but you can always play hard.
“We put Sally up to a really hard task. Molis is a phenomenal player, one of the best shooters in our game, and she really just was able to stick with her and make it difficult for her to get the ball.”
Junior guard Maliyah Miller scored eight points for the Wolfpack, who were without junior guard Gabrielle Hinton.
The Wolfpack have had a strong start to the season — including an impressive victory over Nazareth, who were the IHSA Class 4A state runner-ups last season — because of their defensive prowess. But Reardon’s transformation into a two-way force will allow them to stand out this season.
“It’s definitely nice to have a couple [wins] under our belt, but we’re not done,” Kennedy said. “Far from it.”