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Patty, Montini grab victory against Marist

Is Montini playing its best basketball right now? Broncos senior Aaliyah Patty didn't hesitate.

"No," she said. "I think we can be a lot better. We still have a lot to work on."

Despite not playing up to their standards, the Broncos still managed a 58-40 victory Thursday against a good Marist team in the Montini Christmas Tournament quarterfinals. The Broncos will meet Mother McAuley, a 59-55 winner against Nazareth, in the semifinals at 8:15 p.m. Friday. Montini defeated the Mighty Macs 59-30 last week in GCAC play.

Patty was a big reason the Broncos (16-1) got off to a good start against Marist. The 6-foot-3 Ohio State recruit scored Montini's first 6 points, and the Broncos jumped out to a quick 12-2 lead. Patty finished with 16 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocked shots.

"As this tournament goes on you get better and better teams, so you'd better be ready to go," she said.

Still, Montini coach Jason Nichols believes Patty is capable of even more, especially if she improves her fitness level so she can play more minutes.

"I think Aaliyah is a very, very good player. Who's better than her in the 2018 class in the state?" he asked rhetorically. " ... What's scary about that is I think that she can give more. I think that there's more in the tank. I think that she's a legit 20 (points) and 10 (rebounds) kid every single night that we're in a big game."

Montini took a 34-18 lead at halftime, but Marist challenged the Broncos in the second half, cutting the lead to 11 points a couple of times.

"We're not good coming out of the half," Patty said. "Coach Nichols always gets on us about that."

Montini has a team rule not to let teams back within 12 points, or four possessions if you're going by 3-pointers. The Broncos broke that rule, one of the reasons Patty could say they're not playing at their best right now.

"I was a little disappointed in our efficiency on the offensive end," Nichols said. "We had a chance to not even allow that game to become close at the end, and we allowed it to become a four-possession game."

Montini had four starters score in double figures. In addition to Patty, Sam Mitchell scored 12 and Illysse Pitts and Frankie Kokkines scored 10 apiece. Kokkines added 7 rebounds and 5 assists.

Junior guard Abby Callahan led Marist with 18 points.

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