Montini strikes a winning chord
Two games into Michala Johnson's return, Montini resembles a star-studded band welcoming its lead singer back to the studio.
The flashes of brilliance only make you thirst for more.
The Broncos used an 18-5 second-half run to dispose of Von Steuben 55-43 on Saturday night in Lombard.
Alison Seberger scored 15 points and Johnson had 11 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocks in a little more than 15 minutes of action.
"It's going to be a matter of give and take, where we're going to get our points," Seberger said. "With Michala inside, if she's hitting it, I'll take that. If we're hitting on the outside and they're doubling her, I'll take that too."
The win was Montini's second over teams regarded as among the top 25 in the Chicago area. The No. 1 Broncos (2-0) beat Marist 59-51 on Tuesday. Neither win left their coach completely satisfied.
"It's really us getting back into the flow of things," said Montini's Jason Nichols, "because I felt like we were 20 points better than our two opponents. I could be positive and say it's early or I could be negative and say we need to be better because we're an experienced team. I'm going to go with both."
With Johnson scoreless in the first half, Montini relied heavily on its perimeter game. The Broncos knocked down four 3-pointers in the first quarter, three by Seberger to take a 15-8 lead. Eight of Montini's first 14 field goals were from distance. Seberger, at times gun-shy to take shots, hit 5 of them and Mallory Sosnovich 2. Whitney Adams, who scored 7 points, hit a trifecta and so did Kiki Wilson as Montini made 9 of its 22 attempts.
"They (Von Steuben) know our team pretty well - we've played travel basketball against them so they know who the shooters are and who aren't," Seberger said. "They let me shoot those first three, I'm taking it."
Johnson scored 22 points in her return to the court on Tuesday but missed her first 6 shot attempts Saturday before laying in a basket with 6:11 left in the third quarter. She scored 9 of her total in the fourth quarter, 2 free throws giving Montini a commanding 53-34 lead with 5:05 left.
"I guess in the first half I wasn't focused. I don't know what was going through my head," Johnson said, "but when the fourth quarter came along I guess I relaxed more and started playing."
Whitney Holloway added 4 points and 8 assists for Montini. Minnesota recruit Shonte Clay had 13 points and 12 rebounds and Northwestern commit LaTerria Taylor 17 points for Von Steuben (0-1).