Jekots are sisters in life, college rivals on court

In a nationally televised game with a share of the Big 5 title on the line, La Salle faced off against St. Joseph’s at Hagan Arena on Monday.

The matchup is always intriguing, but this time, another layer was added to the rivalry as two sisters shared the court. St. Joseph’s graduate student Katie Jekot played against freshman Julie Jekot for the first time in their collegiate careers.

The Jekot family has long been synonymous with Philadelphia basketball. Their father, John Jekot, played at Conwell-Egan, while eldest daughter Kelly competed at Villanova for four years and is now at Penn State.

Katie and Julie are another installment of this basketball legacy. Before the game, Julie said that she was looking forward to the faceoff, especially considering how busy her family is with other obligations.

“The most exciting thing about this game is being able to play alongside her even though we are going against each other,” Julie said. “My family is also always busy with basketball, so it is hard to get our schedules aligned. But with us playing with each other, it’s bringing my whole family together at one time, which will be a fun environment to participate in.”

Katie expressed the same sentiment, explaining how they shared a moment together leading up to the game.

“I actually went to breakfast with my mom and her,” Katie said. “We were talking about how our whole family’s going to be there to watch us play. It definitely has been the [topic of] conversation lately.”

Katie has often been linked to her older sister Kelly because of their being only one year apart, but Julie and Katie had their own fair share of sibling competition growing up.

“The four of us would always just play together outside in the driveway or we would go to the park together,” Katie said. “But just being that older sister role model for Julie, teaching her the way. It’s basically just that from back in our childhood.”

There is a five-year difference between the two. Katie, who is averaging 10.3 points for the Hawks this season, has been able to give advice to Julie about the adjustment from high school to college.

“Especially with the COVID year when I was sent workouts from St. Joe’s, I would help her go through them with me just to get a taste of what college basketball was like,” Katie said. “She would ask me different questions about school and how to deal with everything, but I was definitely there to help her with her transition into college.”

Perhaps the most valuable advice Katie has given to Julie (now averaging a point per game in limited minutes) has been about doing the little things on the court in order to stand out among the competition.

“My sister is one of the hardest-working players I have ever met, and so what resonated with me was to never take any plays off and to always make hustle plays,” Julie said. “Some other keys she gave me were to be the best communicator that I can be, to stay within my game, and to play to my own strengths, and lastly to do the small things in practice and games because those add up.”

At the 4:21 mark of the first quarter, Julie entered the game and was finally able to share the court with her older sister. Julie didn’t return until a little over halfway in the third, but she made an impact with a steal. She also followed up with three crucial rebounds in the fourth quarter.

Katie went off for a career-best 12 assists with only two turnovers and added six points. Julie finished with three rebounds and a steal. Perhaps most important, her La Salle team came away with a 69-65 victory that will certainly be used in sibling banter for years to come.