Montini loses to Young but wins respect
Knowing what Whitney Young was capable of, Montini coach Jason Nichols was understandably uncertain how his young team would handle the matchup.
“I thought this team could put a 30- or 40-spot on us if we weren’t careful,” Nichols said. “But our kids did some good things, there was some good stuff.”
Nichols’ No. 6 Broncos never went away against Young, ranked No. 1 in Class 4A and fourth nationally according to USA Today, but did lose 64-56 at Monday’s 22nd McDonald’s Shootout in Villa Park.
Kateri Stone scored 20 points and fellow sophomore Jasmine Lumpkin 12 points for Montini (19-5), which twice battled back from deeper deficits to draw within 8.
Young’s lead grew to 53-34 at one point, but Montini kept coming. The Broncos could have crept closer if not for 9 missed free throws in the second half.
“I’m proud of our team,” Stone said. “We showed some courage. There are a lot of things that they exposed that we need to work on, but we definitely pushed through and fought them to the end.”
Free-throw shooting is a recurring trouble spot for Montini, but another stat ultimately might have done them in Monday. Young (17-0) pulled down 21 offensive rebounds to Montini’s 4, and turned them into 18 second-chance points.
Dolphins 5-foot-8 junior Linnae Harper, one of a trio of stellar Young guards, had 16 rebounds to go with 16 points.
“Our kids are young down low, and they stand around a lot,” Nichols said. “They don’t understand that you gotta put a body on Harper, or she’s gonna absolutely murder you. We told them that, but they still don’t get it — they’re young. Our post players are not rebounding a lick.”
Harper’s backcourt mate Janee Thompson, a Kentucky recruit, scored 19 points with 8 assists. The Dolphins have routinely had their way with in-state opponents this year, handing Trinity its only loss by 15 and routing Niles West by 36 on Saturday.
Montini provided Young with its narrowest margin of victory against an Illinois school this season and earned respect in the process.
“Experience will always prevail, and they are a young team,” Thompson said, “but they’re also very good. I do think they will go far.”
Montini’s only lead was 2-0 on a Stone basket in the opening seconds, but the Broncos were within 18-14 after a quarter on the strength of two early 3-pointers apiece by Stone and Nikia Edom.
The Dolphins ended the half on a 12-2 run to take a 33-18 lead into the break, but a free throw by Stone pulled Montini back to 38-30 midway through the third.
Young’s pressure forced 20 Broncos turnovers, but guards like Stone, Sara Ross and Lumpkin also enjoyed some success attacking it.
“We felt like we could get to the basket when we wanted to,” Nichols said, “and we did. At times we didn’t handle their pressure well, but at times we beat it. I thought Stone was awesome. They were sticking to her, and she found a way to score.”
Montini is winless in five trips to the shootout since 2008. On the other hand, losses to Bolingbrook the last two years at Willowbrook were the Broncos’ last both years before winning two 3A titles.
“Last year’s loss here was our wake-up call,” Stone said. “We focused on our mistakes and tried to minimize them the rest of the way. Hopefully that’s what we do this year.”