advertisement

Montini takes triumph at Willowbrook

When you have the kind of expectations that Montini carries into every girls basketball season, you know when looks are deceiving.

So the Broncos didn't celebrate Friday night's 69-15 victory against Willowbrook at the Willowbrook Thanksgiving Invite.

"While it might look like something, it really isn't," Montini coach Jason Nichols said.

With an underclassmen-dominated rotation, Nichols knows his team will go through some growing pains. Montini (3-0) is winning on talent and athleticism in the first week of the season.

"We are light-years away from beating anybody good," Nichols said. "We don't do anything crisp or the right way. Like we just don't. We don't retain things from practice and are applying them in game situations. So when you really get to a point where you are playing an elite-level team like a Maine West, the Libertyvilles, Fremds and the (Mother) McAuleys, it's not going to translate. It's just not."

Montini won its second tournament game, leading from start to finish. A Taylor Charles 3-pointer lifted the lead to double digits, 13-3. The sophomore Charles' 3 at the first-quarter buzzer made it 16-3.

The margin passed the 20-point mark midway through the second quarter on freshman Lexi Salazar's 3-pointer to make the score 25-4. By halftime it was 36-9, and the Broncos earned a running clock in the fourth quarter.

"We're very young, but I'm going to tell you something else," Nichols said. "We've got to dial in mentally with what we're trying to accomplish. There's talent. There is so much talent. But we've got so much to get better. Which is good. But it's also scary."

All 10 Broncos who played scored, led by Charles' 12 points and freshman Maddie Saracco's 11 points. Sophomore point guard Sophie Sullivan scored 9, as did Salazar.

Montini made 14 of 34 3-pointers.

Montini takes on Lockport at Willowbrook at 4:30 p.m. Saturday. Willowbrook plays Plainfield Central at 7:30 p.m.

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.