Will this be Montini's year?

The epicenter of girls basketball in DuPage County is located at Montini this season.

The Broncos return their top six scorers from their 25-8 supersectional team of a year ago. Plus they've added four players, one back from injury and three freshmen, who should play significant roles in what could be a special season at the Catholic school in Lombard.

"We have a combination of some older kids with some experience and some younger kids who are very good," Montini coach Jason Nichols said. "This is probably the most excited since I went downstate at Trinity. I've always been excited, but I'm excited about today, tomorrow and everything about this year."

The excitement starts with having Michala Johnson back. The 6-foot-3 center with smooth moves in the paint is coming off a season in which she averaged 19.6 points, 11.6 rebounds and 3.5 blocks, while shooting 68 percent from the field.

And she's improved while adding about 10 pounds to her sleek frame.

"I think the No. 1 thing that she's gotten better at is she can now hit a 15-foot jumper," Nichols said. "I think it makes her just so tough to defense because she can get to the basket in a split second."

Johnson confirmed her jump shot has improved.

"I worked on that a lot over the summer," said Johnson, who's being recruited by a flock of colleges including Maryland, Duke, Texas, Notre Dame, Purdue, Wisconsin, DePaul and Vanderbilt.

Chrissy Fletcher, a 6-1 junior forward, is back after averaging 8.3 points a year ago.

Cootie Leeberg, a senior, heads the returnees in the backcourt. She averaged 9.1 points and shot well from 3-point range last season. Guards Alison Seberger, a 6-1 sophomore who also drilled a bunch of 3-pointers as a freshman, and Shannon Prince, another senior, are back, too.

Nichols looks for reserve 5-5 sophomore guard Mallory Sosnovich to play a bigger role this season. He expects significant contribution from 5-10 junior guard Sharon Lenert, who is back after ACL surgery to her left knee sidelined her last year.

Then there are the freshmen.

Whitney Holloway, a point guard, headlines a talented crop of young newcomers for the Broncos. She'll start at the point, allowing Leeberg to move to shooting guard.

Nichols reports that Holloway already has received scholarship offers from Eastern Michigan and Northern Illinois.

"She will play beyond her years, and she'll be a great player for years to come," he said. "That kid is special."

Kiki Wilson, a guard, and Whitney Adams, a forward, are two freshmen who also figure into the mix.

"I've got nine kids who can make an argument to start," Nichols said. "It's not going to be about who starts. It's going to be about who finishes the game. Playing time is going to be interesting. It'll be based on matchups and situations, and if they buy into it I think we can do a lot of special things."

Leeberg said it's the best Montini team in her four years.

"I'm feeling very confident," she said. "I mean you never want to feel overconfident, but I'm expecting to do very well."

"I think we should make it downstate this year," Johnson said.

In order to do that, the Broncos will need to get over the supersectional hump. They've fallen a victory shy of a state berth each of the past three years.

"The last three years we've stopped at supersectionals," Leeberg said. "We're sick of that, so we're trying to exceed that and go farther with our success."

Leeberg said her only goals are team-oriented.

"Since I am a senior and this is my last year, I would love to go downstate and win it all," she said. "Everything's about the team and not just one player because if we are focused on just ourselves then we're not going to make it very far."

Nichols thinks his Broncos can win the Class 3A title, but he knows it'll be tough with Trinity, Marshall and Hope in the same class around here, not to mention Belleville Althoff and Galesburg in other parts of the state.

"I think we could win the state title just as easily as we could lose in a sectional," he said. "You've got a lot of great teams in 3A. I think 3A is just as competitive as 4A."

While the Broncos have a promising future, Nichols is focused on the upcoming season.

"I've heard people say, 'Oh, you're going to be great next year,' " he said. "We're going to be good this year. We're going to work our butts off to get there, so that's our goal. I want to win a state title now rather than next year. I'm tired of that, 'Next year…' We are not the Chicago Cubs, I'll tell you that right now."