Montini's downstate streak stopped in supersectional
Only a great team could keep Montini from going downstate for the seventh straight postseason.
Trinity was that team.
Trinity defeated Montini 60-53 Monday night at the Class 4A Hoffman Estates supersectional without scoring a field goal in overtime, making 11 of 12 free throws in the final four minutes. Trinity goes downstate to play Benet in the semifinals at 8:15 p.m. Friday.
Overtime started with Trinity grabbing the tip, getting the lead and continuing to be very patient on offense.
"They score, we don't score, they hold and now we're chasing," said Montini coach Jason Nichols, whose team was third in Class 3A last year before moving up to Class 4A this season. "That's your game. And then they hit every free throw in sight, and that's a problem."
Dartmouth-bound senior Annie McKenna went 10 of 10 at the free-throw line in overtime, finishing with 21 points.
"They played really well and we just came up a little short," Broncos junior Kaylee Bambule said.
It was Bambule's 3-point shot from the right wing with eight seconds to play in the fourth quarter that sent the game into overtime tied at 49.
"(Nichols) just called a play and I just tried to stay calm," Bambule said. "I came off a screen and just hit it I didn't think about it. It gave us another life, but Trinity came out awesome."
Bambule finished with a team-best 21 points. Tiara Wallace added 10 for Montini.
"She's a clutch player," Nichols added of Bambule. "She basically kept us in the game with big shots."
Trinity senior Kaitlyn Aylward was outstanding offensively and defensively. She also scored 21 points, mixing three 3-pointers and working her way to the basket against Montini's 2-3 zone defense to get to the free-throw line.
"We just didn't close well on the shooters, we didn't rebound very well," Nichols said. "In these games it's little things that are glaring when you lose. It's unfortunate because they're a great group of seniors that don't get to get rewarded. We're used to getting rewarded since 2010, six years. It's a hard feeling not doing that."
Aylward also was a force in the paint defensively, where Trinity (28-5) was just plain stronger than Montini (31-3). The Broncos grabbed just 2 offensive rebounds and got 7 points from their post players.
"We have two sophomore players who have unlimited potential, and they're young," Nichols said. "They're young. They're talented, they're young and hopefully they'll learn from this and as they mature with another year they'll come back and be stronger. Both sophomores always struggled against senior bodies and senior post players."
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