LA GRANGE — Fenwick and Trinity, despite being less than three miles apart, recently have only met in the postseason, but that will change when both teams are slated to compete in the GCAC Red beginning in 2015-16.
For junior guard Annie McKenna, who scored 26 points during Trinity’s 69-50 Class 4A regional championship victory over Fenwick on Friday, the chance to play the Friars hits close to home.
McKenna, who lives in Elmwood Park, decided to attend Trinity despite having two older sisters (Molly and Colleen) who played basketball at Fenwick.
“My siblings went to Fenwick, so it was tough to make the decision,” McKenna said. “A bunch of my grammar school friends went to Trinity, so I thought it was the best fit.
“I had not played (my sisters) at Trinity, so it will be a really big rivalry for me. It will become more of a rivalry because we are neighborhood schools, so it will be fun.”
Junior Deja Cage, who led Fenwick with 20 points against the Blazers, only discovered Friday that the Friars were going to join Trinity’s conference.
“I did not even know that,” Cage said. “Oh, that makes this even better then. I am excited, I am really excited now, because this is like a rivalry team to us.
“I think it will be good, it will always be a competition between us two teams. It is just going to be an exciting thing to see.”
Trinity (25-4), which won the GCAC Red championship, is in pursuit this season of its first state championship. Fenwick has won two state championships (2001, 2007) in the past 14 years.
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“I have been here nine years. When I got here, Fenwick had been the elite program in the state of Illinois,” Trinity coach Eddie Stritzel said. “I feel now, through a lot of hard work and great players, we have kind of humbly accepted that mantle. We are one of the better programs in Illinois, year in, year out.”
Fenwick coach Dave Power feels like he’s leaving one super conference for another.
“We are leaving the East Suburban (Catholic), which is the greatest girls basketball conference ever,” Power said. “I think next year that might start where the GCAC is in that same category. It is a great group of teams, a tremendous conference.
“I think it will turn into a real nice rivalry in time. … I think the Trinity/Fenwick game will be a very nice rivalry; just like we have with Oak Park-(River Forest), absolutely.”
Patrick Kelly is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press