Holloway carries Montini past Marian Catholic
Star players can recognize greatness across the court when they see it, and Simone Law could Thursday.
“Whitney Holloway,” said the Marian Catholic senior, “she’s a playmaker.”
Montini’s Notre Dame-bound senior point guard scored a career-high 28 points — 20 in the second half — to carry the Broncos past Marian Catholic 72-59 for a repeat championship at the Montini Christmas Tournament in Lombard.
Holloway, who made 15 of her 16 free throws, eclipsed her previous best of 27 set in supersectionals her freshman year.
“We were really ready for this game, pumped up,” Holloway said. “We knew Marian Catholic was going to come at us hard and we wanted to defend our home court.”
Marian Catholic (14-2) became the seventh team ranked in the preseason Class 3A or 4A top 10 to lose against Montini.
Holloway expected this one in particular to be a grind.
“We knew they were a great team,” Holloway said. “Our toughest game so far.”
Montini (19-0) led 37-27 at half, knocking down six 3-pointers in a sizzling shooting exhibition. Law, who had 28 points and 9 rebounds, almost single-handedly kept Marian Catholic within striking distance and the Spartans trailed 51-45 after a basket by Serafina Hardy to start the fourth quarter.
Whitney Adams answered with a 3-pointer off a feed from Holloway, touching off a 13-2 run to break things open. Holloway made an acrobatic scoop shot on a drive, assisted a Kiki Wilson basket in transition and made 4 free throws during the stretch.
The Broncos didn’t budge in a close game late, a rare occurrence this season.
“We just had to keep our composure,” Holloway said.
Holloway also had 4 assists and just 1 turnover, giving her an outstanding 69-to-11 ratio for the season. Montini repeatedly called its “one-high” play, and Marian Catholic’s man defense couldn’t contain Holloway off the high screen.
“We ran it, like, every possession,” Montini coach Jason Nichols said, “and they adjusted and they doubled Whit. We flipped it right back to Adams and she hit that monster 3. Very tough to defend. We have some dynamic guards, which helps.”
Montini, shooting just 52 percent from the free-throw line on the season, made 27 of 34 Thursday. Holloway made 12 straight in the second half.
“I actually called them out on it,” Nichols said. “We told them you have to start holding yourselves accountable. It’s your own gym. Outstanding tonight.”
Montini also made 7 of its 16 3-point shots. Sophomore guard Edom, shooting 43 percent from deep on the season, hit her first three Thursday.
“Coach tells me, ‘If you’re open, shoot it,’” Edom said. “I’ve been hitting lately.”
Wilson added 14 points, and the 5-foot-5 guard also pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds. Edom added 9 points, Adams 8 and Kasey Reaber 6 rebounds.
Law wrapped up a sensational tournament where the Loyola recruit averaged 24 points and 11 rebounds over five games. Jamie Johnson scored 13 points and Jasmine Matthews 10 for Marian Catholic.
“Every time we cut into the lead tonight we left somebody open and hit the shot,” Marian Catholic coach Annie Byrne said. “They shot extremely well and converted every time we made a mistake.”