Montini posts big win, heads back to state
Through rain, sleet or snow Montini was going to return to Redbird Arena this year.
Even with ice-cold shooting, the Broncos did just that.
No. 1 Montini pulled away to beat Trinity 34-23 at Monday's Class 3A Loyola University supersectional at the Gentile Center, punching the school's second trip to the state semifinals in three years.
"It's something we've been waiting on all year," junior Whitney Holloway said, "and it feels great to finally achieve it. Now we gotta win a state championship."
Montini (31-2) plays Springfield in Friday's second 3A semifinal. The Broncos did Monday what they could not do last year. Remarkably, they did so without their best player. Montini is now 13-1 without Michala Johnson, the lone loss since her season-ending injury to 4A No. 1 Bolingbrook.
"After having the feeling of losing in this game last year we've been in this stage and we knew what it was going to be like," senior Alison Seberger said. "It's a great feeling to be going back."
After torching Riverside-Brookfield for a season-high 92 points on Thursday, Montini went scoreless for 10:34 in the first half Monday between a Whitney Adams driving layup and Whitney Holloway 3-pointer.
Trinity (24-10) led 10-7 at half, the two teams combining for 6 of 43 shooting.
A Holloway layup with 3:28 left in the third quarter gave the Broncos the lead back at 12-10, and it was 16-14 heading into the fourth quarter. Montini forced 5 Trinity turnovers in the third, matching the Blazers' first-half total.
"Those steals gave us some momentum," Seberger said. "We never looked back."
Mallory Sosnovich, silent Monday after hitting seven 3-pointers in the sectional final, hit the biggest shot of the night. With Montini maintaining a 2-point lead, the Broncos senior nailed a trifecta on a feed from Holloway to make it 22-17, and it never got closer.
"It was the key shot because it gave us that five- or six-point spread," Montini coach Jason Nichols said, "and it forced them to guard us and we were able to go to the spread."
Montini salted the game away at the free throw line, hitting 13 of 18 free throws in the fourth quarter. Courtney Thomas, who had a game-high 8 points with 4 rebounds, was 4-of-4. Sosnovich hit 4 free throws and Kiki Wilson 3.
"We did a good job of being strong with the basketball," Nichols said, "and we got them in foul trouble. We got to the free throw line and made some shots."
Montini dominated the boards, a cause for concern in Johnson's absence - outrebounding Trinity 37-25 with 14 offensive. Adams had 9 total.
The Broncos matchup zone held Trinity to 19.4 percent shooting for the game and limited leading scorer Megan Podkowka to 7 points, less than half her average.
"It all starts with defense," Nichols said. "We knew exactly what they were going to do. They don't move. They stand. My mother can defend someone who never moves. We did enough on the defensive end and that's what it takes to win."
"I don't know what we could have done better defensively. Montini is just a special team," Trinity coach Eddie Stritzel said. "It was just not our night offensively."