As SHC gets ready for the annual basketball Bruce-Mahoney games, there is lots of preparation done by various clubs and school groups that often goes unnoticed by the student body. SHC’s Women’s Empowerment Catholic Community Cohort (WECCC) plays an important role in highlighting the importance of women in sports at SHC and women in sports in general.
The time-honored tradition of the Bruce-Mahoney games has been a staple of school spirit at both Saint Ignatius and Sacred Heart Cathedral. Beginning in 1893 as a rugby game on Saint Patrick’s Day, the games have flourished into a competitive rivalry. The game series was named after two graduates from each school who lost their lives during World War II, Bill Bruce (Saint Ignatius 1935) and Jerry Mahoney (Sacred Heart 1944). Established in 1947, the winner of the series earns the Bruce-Mahoney Memorial Trophy, currently in the hands of Saint Ignatius for the past four years. While the series previously only featured male football, basketball, and baseball, in 2021, the Bruce-Mahoney welcomed two new women’s sports: basketball and volleyball. Last school year, SHC won the Women’s Basketball game in a close match while the Men’s team faced defeat.
WECCC is an SHC club devoted to bringing awareness to the issues that female-identifying members of our society experience. Ms. Hannah Reese, English and History teacher who moderates WECCC, explains that “I think the biggest way to make people feel empowered is by giving them space and voice. Women’s Empowerment aims to do that by creating opportunities for females on campus to be celebrated and find community with other women here.” Before every Women’s Bruce game, WECCC creates posters for each team member and manager with their name and number. Filled with bright colors and school spirit, the posters are given to the student section to support their friends and community. President of WECCC, Leah Zheng ‘25, describes, “These posters show to our female athletes that there are people cheering them on and that we appreciate each and every one of them. While this in no way can completely change sexism in sports culture, it is a first step to improvement, and I couldn’t be more excited to facilitate it and be a part of it.” Even though women’s sports at SHC still get less recognition than men’s, including women’s basketball and volleyball in the Bruce-Mahoney tournament is an important step in the right direction toward gender equality at SHC.
The addition of women’s sports to the Bruce-Mahoney is a key part of creating equality in SHC sports. Other changes are also really important, such as holding both the Men’s and Women’s basketball games on the same day at the Chase Center, while past basketball games were a few weeks apart. The subsequent games offer more convenience to fans such as Gianna Minella ‘26 and Chelsea Blair ‘26, both WECCC members. Chelsea explains that having the games on the same night “encouraged me to go to both games. Since the Women’s game was later than the Men’s game in past years, if the men’s team lost, I wouldn’t go to the Women’s game since there was no hope of winning the trophy, as we lost the other two games in the fall.”
WECCC plays a key role at SHC in leading the school towards gender equality, especially through the recognition of women in sports. WECCC’s advocation and support of SHC’s women’s basketball team shows how small-scale changes can truly lead to an impactful way to celebrate female achievement and success in our school community and beyond. Make sure to come out to Chase Center on Tuesday, January 14 at 5PM to support the SHC Girls’ Basketball team as they take on SI. Visit shcathletics.com to see when and where the next women’s sports games take place!
