Montini clears path through Belvidere North

Diamond Thompson chased down her unsuspecting opponent and swatted from behind a sure breakaway layup to the delight of Montini’s players and fans.

In the sleepy town of Burlington, the Broncos threw their own little block party.

Montini blocked 12 shots — 5 by 6-foot-4 sophomore Thompson — and beat Belvidere North 56-27 in Thursday’s Class 3A Burlington Central sectional final for the Broncos’ seventh straight title.

Thompson’s block elicited oohs and ahs from the crowd, and her performance earned a much-longed for hug from her coach.

“Diamond, it seemed like she just came out of nowhere on that play,” Montini’s Whitney Holloway said. “I was like, ‘Wow, Diamond.’”

“Where’s this been all year?” Montini coach Jason Nichols asked. “We’ll take it now. Timing is everything in life. Maybe she’s figuring it out, because she looks unbelievable out there. She’s been bothering me to give her a hug and I said, ‘Not until you start really playing.’”

Thompson, who blocked 4 shots in Tuesday’s semifinal win, also scored 7 points with 5 rebounds Thursday. Fellow sophomore Malayna Johnson and Whitney Adams also had 2 blocks.

“I just want to contribute anywhere I can,” Thompson said. “I’ve been working hard in practice lately, trying to get better and trying to get back down to state. If I continue to work hard and listen to my coach, I think I can be a big contributor.”

Montini (33-1) moves on to play Grayslake Central in Monday’s 7:30 p.m. supersectional at Hoffman Estates.

Holloway scored a game-high 16 points, including her own highlight-reel play. Midway through the third quarter, with Montini already in command up 32-15, Holloway hung in the air to make a scoop shot in heavy traffic.

“That’s one of the two best plays in this gym in the last 10 years,” marveled the Burlington Central PA announcer.

“I didn’t even think that was going in,” Holloway said. “It wasn’t intentional.”

Just as important, Holloway was a menace on defense with 7 steals, turning several into scores the other way.

“She just closes gaps so well and disrupts people on the perimeter,” Nichols said. “Yeah, she’s pretty good.”

Montini led 16-7 after a quarter, and it was 18-9 two minutes into the second. From there Belvidere North (21-9), which last week won the school’s first regional game, was held scoreless for nearly six minutes.

Holloway scored on a pretty reverse layup, and Kiki Wilson knocked down a 3 after Montini missed its first eight 3-point attempts. It was 28-11 by halftime.

Adams had 9 points and 10 rebounds, leading a 39-19 edge on the boards, and Wilson had 8 points and 6 assists for Montini.

Cetrena Simmons, who had scored 49 points in Belvidere North’s last two games, had a team-high 7.

“We just gotta take it one game at a time,” Holloway said. “Definitely nice to win another sectional.”