3-pointers key another Montini victory

You're going to need to defend the perimeter aggressively if you're going to play Montini in girls basketball.

The Broncos converted 10 3-point shots and ran away with a 72-31 victory against Wheaton Academy at the Class 3A Montini regional final Friday night.

Montini, the top seed in the Orr sectional, will play No. 4 Glenbard South in the sectional semifinals at 6 p.m. Tuesday in Chicago.

The Broncos (27-5) made 10 of 15 attempts from behind the 3-point arc in the first on their way to a 46-12 halftime lead.

"We were up against a big challenge tonight," Warriors coach Beth Mitchell said of the defending Class 3A champion. "Montini is a very talented team, and they were way too much for us to handle. I thought I saw glimpses of some good things for us. We're young. The great thing for us is we have a lot of these kids back."

The Broncos also forced 19 first-half turnovers, with their full-court pressure running the No. 8 seed Warriors (17-11) ragged.

"We wanted to play at a pace where they had to use their bench, and we feel like our bench is deeper than a lot of teams," Montini coach Jason Nichols said.

The Broncos also showed they can score inside, whether it's getting the ball into the post or guards driving the lane.

"When we're not hitting we've got to be able to do some other things, and I thought we did some decent things," Nichols said.

Juniors Elizabeth Melby and Jamie Netzley scored 11 points apiece for the Warriors.

"I think Beth Mitchell is such a good coach," Nichols said. "You knew her kids would at least push us and make us have to work, and that was good, because we really needed that. ... You can look at the score and say you weren't pushed, but yeah, we were, because their kids make you work. It was good. We needed that, especially going into Glenbard South."

Montini junior Lea Kerstein and sophomore Kaylee Bambule scored 14 points apiece, combining for six 3-pointers.

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