Broncos have simple goal: keep winning

Now that the Montini girls basketball team has cleared its supersectional hurdle for the first time in four years, what's left for it to do?

"How about winning some more?" Broncos coach Jason Nichols asked.

Montini (27-5) meets Freeport (29-4) in the Class 3A semifinals at 1:45 p.m. today at Redbird Arena on the campus of Illinois State University in Normal.

The winner will play either Marshall (24-7) or Quincy Notre Dame (32-0) in Saturday's 12:45 p.m. state championship game.

"This is a huge, huge opportunity, and we just want to take advantage of it," said Montini's Cootie Leeberg, who co-captains the team with fellow senior guard Shannon Prince.

This is the first trip to state for the program since current athletic director Don Riley coached the Broncos to Elite Eight finishes in 1989, '90 and '93.

Thanks to the change in the tournament structure brought by class expansion, a trip to state puts you in the Final Four, so this year's Montini club has already made history in its program as the one to advance the furthest.

A state title this weekend is a real possibility for the Broncos, but Nichols is trying to make sure his players devote all of their attention to their semifinal.

"The next game is our priority -- nobody else is," said Nichols, who led Trinity to a Class AA Elite Eight finish in 2003 before coming to Montini and coaching the Broncos to a 129-30 mark in five seasons in Lombard.

"We're so excited to finally get to go downstate," said Montini sophomore center Michala Johnson, an Associated Press Class 3A all-state first-team choice. "Right now all we're looking for is just getting down there and just focusing and coming out with a lot of energy."

On paper Montini looks to have a favorable semifinal matchup with the 6-foot-3 Johnson, who averages a team-high 18.3 points, going against a Freeport squad that does not have a 6-footer.

But Nichols is not taking Freeport lightly, especially after the Pretzels avenged a loss to punch their ticket to state. They lost to Peoria Richwoods 54-32 in the Sterling Christmas Shootout on Dec. 22 only to win their next 16 games, including a 50-48 win over Peoria Richwoods in the NIU supersectional Monday.

"The thing is every team you're playing right now has big-time momentum, so everyone deserves your respect," Nichols said. "We'd like to think about ourselves a little bit and say, hey, we're playing well. That's what matters, and we need to continue that."

Montini upset top-ranked Chicago Public League champion Hope 58-51 in the Nazareth sectional final on Feb. 21, then defeated Washington 54-39 at the St. Xavier University supersectional fueled by freshman point guard Whitney Holloway's career-high 27 points.

The Broncos tend to click when players such as Leeberg, sophomores Alison Seberger and Mallory Sosnovich, and Holloway hit from the outside. That opens more room inside for Johnson and 6-foot-1 junior forward Chrissy Fletcher.

"When they're hitting," Nichols said of his outside shooters, "we're tough to beat."