Montini wins in OT to clinch another league title
Montini's Zoe MacKay Zacker and Sophie Sullivan are three years apart in age, but they are like two peas in a pod on the basketball court.
MacKay Zacker, a four-year varsity player, has taken Sullivan, a freshman point guard, under her wing and helped her adjust to starting for a renowned program as a rookie.
"I lean on Zoe a lot," Sullivan said. "She always tries to hype us up in the huddles.
"She always hypes me up when I make 3s and I will hype her up when she makes 3s, so it's like hand-in-hand. We work really good together."
That was evident Wednesday when the pair combined to sink five 3-pointers as host Montini edged Loyola 42-36 in overtime to complete another unbeaten run through the GCAC Red.
The Broncos (22-4, 5-0) have never lost a regular-season GCAC Red game in the four years they have been in the conference, which also includes traditional powers Mother McAuley, Fenwick, Trinity and St. Ignatius.
"This is a really huge win for us because we're 5-0 in conference and since we bounced back from a bad 'L,'" Sullivan said. "It's nice to take a step forward."
After getting lit up for 15 3-pointers in Monday's loss to Lake Park at the 29th annual Coach Kipp's Hoopsfest, Montini tightened its defense, which was crucial against a stingy team like Loyola.
The Ramblers (19-6, 2-3) led by 6 in the second quarter before the Broncos rallied in a seesaw third quarter, during which Sullivan sank both of her 3s. The first gave Montini a 27-26 lead.
Addison Ebeling and Celia Satter, who combined to make all 7 of Loyola's 3s, answered with back-to-back 3s to put the visitors in front 32-27.
The Broncos hit back as Sullivan passed to MacKay Zacker for a 3-pointer. Taris Thornton then stole the ball and triggered a fastbreak, which led to freshman Angelina Giordano finding Sullivan on the left wing for a buzzer-beating 3 that put Montini up 33-32 heading into the fourth quarter.
"Sophie hits shots when we need her to hit shots and she's someone that I will throw the ball to and I am super confident that she'll make a shot," Zacker said. "And she did.
"She showed up as a freshman tonight and it's super impressive. She's someone that's only going to get better and she just continues to be a statement player for this team."
It's not the first time Sullivan has hit a buzzer-beater.
"I've hit multiple of those going into the fourth quarter this year, like in the Christmas tournament," Sullivan said. "I was just confident about it. I said, 'This is my shot, I can shoot it.'"
Another freshman, forward Tatiana Thomas, also came up big for Montini. She tied Satter for game-high scoring honors with 14 points, led all players with 13 rebounds and had 3 steals and 2 blocks.
Thomas' free throw with 1:41 left in regulation tied the game at 36 and neither team got a shot off until overtime, when Montini outscored Loyola 6-0.
The Ramblers shot 0 for 7 in the overtime, while Thomas scored on a putback and MacKay Zacker tallied 4 of her 11 points, including a long 3 from the top of the key with 2:50 left off a pass from, yep, Sullivan.
"I think it came down to a game of who was going to execute when they had to," MacKay Zacker said. "My coaches were saying if you have a shot, you have to take it. I took it when I was open."