Jarosinski, Montini flexibly frustrate Bartlett
Bartlett's girls basketball team found out just how difficult it can be to defend Montini's multi-dimensional ability Monday night.
When you try to take away the Broncos' potent 3-point shooting, they pound it inside to 6-foot-5 sophomore center Lindsey Jarosinski.
Jarosinski poured in a game-high 20 points on 10-of-13 shooting from the field during the Broncos' 64-32 Class 4A sectional semifinal victory over the Hawks (22-8) in Schaumburg.
While posting their 30th win for the seventh consecutive season, the top-seeded Broncos advance to Thursday's 7 p.m. sectional championship clash with second-seeded Geneva (25-4), which outlasted Batavia 48-44 in overtime Monday.
"It isn't the goal but it's nice," Montini coach Jason Nichols said of the team's 30-win campaign. "If we lose our next game, it's 30-3 and we're disappointed. It's great they feel that way because they have those expectations.
"To me, they've already been successful but it would be nice to be successful with a chance to go downstate."
Riding a 13-game winning streak, the Hawks continued their momentum into the first quarter.
After falling behind 8-2 early, Bartlett went on a 7-2 run to close within 10-9 on a driving layup by senior guard Shelley Lyjak in the final minute of the opening stanza.
Montini led 12-9 after one quarter.
"At that point, I felt we were executing the game plan to perfection and we weren't hitting shots (4 of 17)," said Hawks first-year coach Dave Mello. "Our game plan was to limit the 3-point looks and make them go inside."
Junior guard Nikki Oppenheimer scored 8 of her 13 points during the Broncos' 19-5 second-quarter run that extended the lead to 31-14.
Jarosinski took charge in the third quarter, connecting on all 6 of her field-goal attempts while benefiting from drive-and-dish passes from Tiara Wallace (5 assists, 6 rebounds), Kaylee Bambule (5 points) and Lea Kerstein (7 points, 4 rebounds).
"They were trying to take away our three-ball and I thought we did a good job of working the ball inside and driving it to the basket," said Nichols, whose team has won 4 of the last 6 Class 3A state titles.
"They were completely guarding our guards and helping on our drivers like Tiara (Wallace) so then I was just there (under the basket)," said Jarosinski.
Lyjak tallied a team-high 18 points while fellow senior Kaitlin Brohan added 6 points, 7 rebounds and 4 steals during a memorable season that saw the Hawks finish as undefeated conference champions (Upstate Eight Valley), earning a regional title on their home floor and compiling a 13-game winning streak.
"We had three huge accomplishments and our sectional was loaded," said Mello. "This group of seniors - they all contributed."