Maine West leaves no doubt vs. Montini
Montini experienced the other side of a lopsided game during the first quarter on Saturday night.
After winning its first 18 games this season, Maine West was in familiar territory.
In a midseason clash between two Class 4A teams with hopes of knocking two-time defending champion Geneva from its throne, Maine West rode a dominating first-quarter effort to a 61-34 victory over Montini in the final game of the Chicagoland Invitational Showcase at Benet.
In front of a horde of college coaches, Angelia Dugalic led the Warriors with a stellar all-around effort on offense and defense. The 6-foot-4 Dugalic collected 14 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists and blocked 2 shots.
"This was a big win," Dugalic said. "We made a statement. Montini is a really good team. I think they sort of underestimated us."
Maine West senior forward Rachel Kent, a St. Louis recruit, finished with a game-high 19 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Dylan VanFleet added 10 points to lead a balanced effort.
Freshman point guard Sophie Sullivan paced the Broncos with 11 points, sophomore Taris Thornton had 8 points and freshman Tatiana Thomas added 2 points and 7 boards.
Maine West coach Kim deMarigny said Kent set the tone with a tireless effort.
"Rachel's will and her drive was unmatched," she said. "She's hands-down the hardest worker that I've ever coached."
The Warriors (19-0) pieced together a dominating first-quarter effort from Kent and Dugalic to seize control. Dugalic, who has numerous high-major Division I offers, lived up to her lofty rankings in the Class of 2020 by scoring 6 points in the opening 1:20 of the game.
With the Broncos heaving 3-pointers - 0 for 9 in the first quarter - and not getting back on transition defense, the Warriors capitalized by scoring 21 straight points to seize a 25-4 lead after the quarter.
"We had a game plan and we knew they would run the floor, but they didn't follow the game plan," Montini coach Jason Nichols said of his Broncos. "It wasn't from a lack of us (coaches) telling them. We didn't execute."
Maine West hit six shots in a row, led by consecutive transition layups by VanFleet, to put the Class 4A runner-up in a big early hole. But in typical fashion in the Nichols era, the Broncos (17-3) responded with a flurry of 3s to cut the deficit to 26-18. Sullivan led the Broncos' resurgence with two 3s, while the Broncos benefitted from Dugalic sitting out the final 3:05 of the second quarter with a minor lower-body injury. Kent hit back-to-back baskets to pad the lead to 32-22 at halftime.
When Dugalic returned to the floor to start the second half, the Warriors also made a return to their high-scoring ways. Maine West outscored the Broncos 11-2 to open the third, highlighted by Lena Albo's 3-point bank shot off an assist from Dugalic.
The Warriors expanded their lead to 51-27 following Jocelyn Jacob's 3-pointer on the first possession of the fourth quarter. Maine West held Montini to 12 points in the second.