Johnson, Montini make Immaculate Conception pay
Montini will make opponents throw some risky rolls of the dice.
"Our gameplan was to take their perimeter away," said Immaculate Conception junior Kasey Reaber, "and make Michala (Johnson) beat us."
The tallest lady in the house was game.
Montini's 6-foot-3 senior powered in 27 points to go with 12 rebounds in a 57-29 win over Immaculate Conception on Monday night in Lombard.
"I knew coming into the game that they really didn't have anybody taller than 5-10 or 5-11," Johnson said, "so I knew I had a mismatch. As long as my team gave me the ball I knew it'd be easier for us."
Johnson's point total was her season-best, in a season-high 21 minutes as she gradually rounds into game shape. She had 25 on Saturday against Rosary.
"To me, one day of rest in between, I think she was still tired from the other day," Montini coach Jason Nichols said. "I thought she was average. You could tell her legs were a little tired.
"But if they're going to give it to us, we'll go to her all day. They had nobody to guard her."
IC did not stray from its textbook man-to-man defense. But Reaber said the flaw was in its execution. IC did hold Montini without a 3-point make.
"A big part of their game is their perimeter shooting," Reaber said, "and we took that away We just didn't help enough on Michala. We were supposed to pinch inside."
With IC coming in 10-0 behind ex-Driscoll starters Kasey Reaber, Taylor Reaber and Alexandra DiVito, Montini (5-0) figured to get its toughest in-league test.
The Broncos set a commanding tone early.
Montini shut out IC 12-0 in the first quarter, point guard Whitney Holloway swiping 5 of her 8 steals, before a Kasey Reaber free throw got the Knights on the board seconds into the second quarter. It was 20-1 before Erin Dunne hit IC's first field goal with 4:28 left in the half.
"Our matchup zone was efficient and it was good," Nichols said. "We have length and we have speed around it. It's hard for teams to get good looks off it."
IC got as close as 15 in the fourth quarter, but Johnson and Holloway scores put to bed any comeback ideas.
Holloway had 9 points and Whitney Adams 6 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists for Montini.
"We're getting there," Nichols said. "We have two more games before Christmas, then the Sterling Shootout and our tournament. Those games there will be big measuring sticks for us."
Kasey Reaber had 7 points and 6 steals and Taylor Reaber 6 points and 8 rebounds for IC. DiVito and Dunn had 6 points.
"Against a team with that kind of offensive firepower you gotta be able to knock down some jumpers," IC coach Dan Murray said. "We have to execute better and we have to take care of the ball better. We still feel we have a vast room for improvement. We need to take this as a learning experience."