By Bobby Narang
The Montini Catholic High School girls basketball season ended with a victory.
But the Broncos’ victory arrived a few hours earlier than veteran head coach Jason Nichols would’ve liked at Redbird Arena in Normal Saturday.
The Broncos defeated Springfield Lanphier 55-43 Saturday afternoon in the Class 3A State tournament third-place game on the Illinois State University campus. The Broncos suffered a 48-40 defeat Friday in the State semifinals to eventual State champion Chicago Simeon, which defeated State power Morton to win its first State championship.
Although the young Broncos fell short of winning a State championship, they earned the program’s ninth top-three State trophy since the 2007-2008 season.
“I think it’s important,” Nichols said. “You have to respect that. For the most part I think we’ve done a good job of showing up on the second day after probably a not-so-good feeling the night before.”
The Broncos, 32-5, will be among the top teams in the State next season, mainly due to achieving another State trophy despite a heavy rotation of young players. The Broncos will miss Southern Illinois University recruit Sydney Prochaska, but they bring back the majority of their scoring.
“That’s actually so nice just to be able to have a win in my last game,” Prochaska said. “I know a lot of girls don’t get to have that last game with a win and I think it’s awesome to come out with a bang.”
Sophomore forward Tatiana Thomas, sophomore forward Taylor Charles, junior forward Taris Thornton, sophomore guard Sophie Sullivan, sophomore guard Angelina Giordano and freshman guard Madisyn Saracco all averaged at least five points per game for the Broncos.
Lanphier head coach Doug Collins said the Broncos should be in contention for a State championship next season.
“I thought they moved the ball well advancing the ball,” Collins said. “I’ll be honest: That team (Montini) was quicker than I thought. They are athletic, they take care of the ball. That’s probably one of the best teams shooting the three that I’ve seen all year.”
Nichols said his players showed a lot of heart by bouncing back from the tough loss to Simeon with a strong start and led, 41-17, early in the first half.
“We were up, so for the first 18 minutes of the game, we played great,” Nichols said. “And then the last 14 minutes, we just kind of cruised home and that’s kind of who we’ve been. Once they pressed us, it created opportunities for us to get looks in space, whether it was two-on-ones or open threes in transition.”
• In Class 4A, Fremd head coach Dave Yates won his first State championship after placing second in 2015 and 2016. The Vikings, 30-7, notched a 58-47 victory over Lincoln-Way West behind 20 points and nine rebounds from Emily Klaczek.
Bolingbrook defeated Lake Park for third place, 63-57. Lincoln-Way West defeated Bolingbrook, 68-57, and Fremd defeated Lake Park, 46-34, in semifinal games.