Defense keys Montini’s supersectional win over Grayslake Central

Montini shook off a cold shooting night at Monday’s Class 3A Concordia University supersectional against Grayslake Central by hitting the boards and playing terrific defense.

Montini won 44-25 in River Forest despite going 1-for-15 from 3-point range, and junior Shea Carver said the victory was all about teamwork.

“We all play for each other,” said Carver. “We knew we had to do every little thing we could tonight to get to state.

“We’ve been waiting for this moment for so long, and it just feels unreal. We’ve worked so hard, we’ve put in the effort and we earned it.”

Now Montini (29-7) is moving on to CEFCU Arena at Illinois State University, where they’ll play Lincoln in the semifinals at 11:15 a.m. Friday.

Grayslake Central was solid on defense as well, but had trouble against the Lady Broncos’ relentless defense.

“We had too many turnovers, and they killed us on the offensive glass,” said Grayslake Central coach Steve Ikenn.

“We played hard, we executed our game plan, and we didn’t give up a lot of points. We held them (Montini) to 44, but you’ve got to give them credit. They played very good defense.”

Carver was the glue that held Montini together through the first three quarters. She scored 9 points, had 9 rebounds, 2 steals and a block in the first 24 minutes as the Lady Broncos built a healthy lead.

“You can always count on Shea,” said Montini coach Shannon Spanos, “and she really stepped up tonight.

“We had to lock on in defense,” added Spanos, “because offensively, it just wasn’t our night. That’s the way it goes sometimes, and when you’re missing shots, missing open layups, you have to dig your heels in on defense.”

Grayslake Central junior Madison Hoffmann scored a team-high 12 points, and she kept her team close in the first half.

Hoffmann's jumper late in the half got the Rams to within 5, but Montini turned the heat up in the third quarter.

Montini junior Nicolette Kerstein, who finished with 6 steals, led the charge as the Lady Broncos opened up a 30-21 advantage heading into the fourth.

Then Kerstein (6-of-6 from the free-throw line in the final period) and senior teammate Victoria Matulevicius (game-high 15 points) helped Montini pull away down the stretch.

Freshman Peyton Hoffmann added 6 points for Grayslake Central, which will return it’s entire squad next season as they did not have a single senior on the roster this year.

“I told the girls that this is just the beginning,” said Ikenn, who’s team finished the year 27-7.

“We’ve just got to go back to the drawing board and figure out what we need to work on.”

Montini has 3 seniors — Matulevicius, Riley White and Alyssa Epps — and coach Spanos was effusive in her praise for the trio after Monday’s win.

“They’ve been (in the program) since their freshman year, and they’re simply the best,” said the coach. “It’s great to have that kind of leadership.

“This is exhilarating. It’s an awesome feeling, and I’m so happy for all these girls. They had their eyes set on this goal since the beginning of the season and they achieved it.”

Carver, for one, can’t wait for the challenge at state.

“At halftime tonight,” said the junior, “we got our nerves — and all of our missed shots — out of the way.

“We were confident and we knew what we had to do.”