Montini still standing - but barely
Whitney Holloway spoke with a shaking voice, glassy-eyed but still standing.
So is Montini.
The No. 1 Broncos blew a 22-point second-half lead but survived for a 42-41 win over No. 5 seed St. Joseph in Tuesday's Class 3A Nazareth sectional semifinal.
"We gotta pick it up and play a lot better than that," Holloway said. "We're lucky to get a second chance."
Two Holloway free throws with 3:46 left in the third quarter pushed Montini ahead 36-14 and seemingly well in control. Eleven surreal minutes later, a Holloway layup rolled out, opening the door for St. Joseph down 42-41 to win it in the game's final seconds.
"I was really scared," Holloway said.
St. Joseph's 6-foot-4 center, Shannika Bryant, missed a shot from in close with 9.4 seconds left. After the ball went out of bounds to the Chargers, Winthrop recruit Dee Gray missed a turnaround 8-footer.
"We got what we wanted," Gray said. "It just didn't fall."
Montini (29-2) avoided becoming the second upset victim in 3A. No. 2 Breese Mater Dei went down in a regional final. Montini plays No. 2 seed Riverside-Brookfield on Thursday for its sixth straight sectional championship.
Tuesday's win was Montini's first by less than double digits since beating Marist 59-51 in the season opener.
"We just have to put this one in the back of our minds," said Holloway, who had 14 points. "You gotta remember that anybody can be beaten. This game was a wakeup call. We have to make sure it doesn't happen again."
Montini spotted St. Joseph (18-11) an early 9-3 lead, giving up 6 offensive rebounds in the first quarter. But the Broncos looked well on their way to another rout after that, outscoring the Chargers 18-2 in the second quarter.
A Holloway fastbreak layup pushed Montini ahead 27-13 at half. St. Joseph missed 17 of its 18 shot attempts in the second quarter, several from in close.
"It would have helped if we could have hit a layup in the second quarter," St. Joseph coach Jim Maley said, "but I know these girls. I wasn't counting them out."
Tianna Brown sparked Montini off the bench with 6 first-half points and 6 rebounds, and Mallory Sosnovich hit a pair of 3-pointers, the second giving the Broncos the lead for good at 12-11.
"I seeded St. Joseph No. 1 in the sectional," Montini coach Jason Nichols said, "and there was a reason I seeded them No. 1. That was the team you saw in the second half. The team in the first half is what we are. We were on the brink, about to blow them out."
It was still 38-25 with 6:36 left in the game after a Whitney Adams baseline drive. But Montini managed just one field goal - a Holloway drive with 2:36 left - the rest of the way. The Broncos also turned the ball over 11 times in the second half.
"Turnovers, missing easy layups, not rebounding - it all added up," Holloway said. "We got frustrated."
Two free throws by Bryant, committed to Wichita State, pulled St. Joseph within 42-41 with 1:40 left. Montini missed the front end of a 1-and-1, but St. Joseph threw the ball away at the other end.
Adams had 7 points and 13 rebounds for Montini. Bryant had 10 points and 13 rebounds for St. Joseph.
"We were able to hang on," Nichols said. "I don't know how, but we found a way. We move on. They don't."