Montini storms past Whitney Young
As a girls basketball program that measures itself in championships, Montini showed growth Wednesday night.
The top-seeded Broncos remained undefeated with an impressive 52-38 victory over Whitney Young in the Montini Christmas Tournament final in Lombard.
“The things that were our weaknesses, I thought tonight they weren't and that's a credit to the girls,” Montini coach Jason Nichols said. “Tonight they stepped up.”
“It's always a good win when we play Whitney Young,” Broncos senior guard Tiara Wallace added. “They're a very good team, a very good defensive team, one of the best in high school and we just wanted to execute on our offense.”
Young led 19-16 at halftime, but Montini (16-0) took control midway through the third quarter.
“We made an adjustment and put Tiara at the point and she started facilitating and did a great job,” Nichols said.
Wallace led the Broncos in scoring with 12 points. Sophomore center Lindsey Jarosinski added 11 points, and Aaliyah Patty and Lea Kerstein scored 10 apiece.
“I just wanted to attack the basket and get the ball to my shooters, and if they were denying my shooters in the post then I'd look for my shot,” Wallace added. “I was just trying to get the team going, and then we got the team going and then we started playing some good defense and we came out with this win.”
Senior Emily Cochrane's 3-pointer gave the Broncos a 33-26 lead to end the third quarter. They started the fourth with a 9-1 run ending with a pair of Kerstein free throws.
“Offensively, we didn't finish the shots that needed finishing, and defensively our rotations to the post weren't efficient,” Dolphins coach Corry Irvin said.
Young rallied with a 9-0 run to cut the lead to 6, but Wallace answered with a pair of free throws and a three-point play to put the Broncos ahead by 11 again with 2:13 to play.
Dolphins senior guard Kiara Lewis, an Ohio State recruit, notched a triple-double of 20 points, 10 rebounds and 10 steals.
“She's unbelievable,” Nichols said.
But Montini did well to shut down the rest of the Dolphins (10-4). Only Lewis reached double figures in scoring.
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