Montini shows Rosary it's still class of SCC
Rosary coach Dave Beebe called Montini a measuring stick for his program after the Broncos showed just how wide the gap is Saturday afternoon in Aurora.
It also doesn't bode well for the rest of the Suburban Christian Conference if Rosary, thought to be along with Immaculate Conception Montini's top competition, is 37 points behind Montini.
"I told the kids, we're 30, 40 points worse than the No. 1 team in the state," Beebe said. "We can use that as a measuring stick."
Even with one of their four Division I recruits missing, Montini didn't miss a beat in its 66-29 victory.
Connecticut-bound Michala Johnson made 9 of her 11 shots while scoring 21 of her 23 points in the first half. She had plenty of help from Whitney Halloway (Notre Dame) and Alison Seberger (Illinois State), while Courtney Thomas (Marquette) sat with a strained MCL. She should be back in a week according to coach Jason Nichols.
"We were inspired to play," Nichols said. "We emphasized that this week to play every possession with passion. When are you are as talented a group as we are and you play hard positive things are going to happen.
"We put a little bit of a hurtin on them but they made us work. I thought we were just as efficient as heck."
Montini (4-0, 2-0) scored the first seven points, all by Johnson on a variety of quick moves in the post. Rosary (6-3, 1-1) stayed within 11-5 midway through the first quarter before the Broncos blew the game open with a 16-0 surge.
Johnson scored 13 of Montini's first 17 points, and as soon as the Royals sent extra help down low, she found Seberger for a pair of 3-pointers.
"We came out focused. I was really determined, I was ready to play," said Johnson, who is coming off an ACL injury to her left knee and missed last year's game at Rosary when the Royals stayed within 10 points.
"I'm very excited to be back this year," Johnson said. "I'm feeling stronger, better."
Montini led 39-14 at halftime after sinking nearly 70 percent of their shots (16 of 23). Rosary hit just 4 of 24.
"We can play better," Beebe said. "That's not taking anything away from them. We gave up way too much on defense. If you are going to go against a state-caliber team like that you've got to hit some free throws and hit some shots."
Nichols only played Johnson four minutes in the second half. Holloway (15 points), Seberger (11 points) and reserves Tianna Brown, Diamond Thompson and Dana Rutkowski helped the Broncos extend their lead.
Jordan Rettig led Rosary with 13 points. Nobody else had more than 5.
"They are great defenders," Rosary point guard Lane Richmond said. "I think we did a really good job today handling the ball and we have another chance against them.
"We came out and gave it all we had and they were hitting. If we play as hard as we can and they are still hitting we have to come back on the offensive side."
Richmond, a four-year varsity player for Rosary, has never beat Montini. The Royals' last win over the Broncos came in 2003, also the only time Rosary has won the conference title.
"They were clicking on all cylinders," Beebe said. "Michala, not one of those points she scored I was surprised by because she's that good. She's an outstanding player but you double or triple team her she's smart enough to kick it out and they have five or six kids that can hit the 3-point shot."