Game 146: Springfield vs. Montini (Girl's Basketball)

Packed and ready for the weekend

Game 146
Springfield vs. Montini (Girl's Basketball)
Class 3A Semifinals (@ Redbird Arena)
3/4/11

Giving myself two hours, I wanted to be on the road out of Macomb at 9:00 a.m. on Friday morning, heading over to Bloomington.  Since I did most of my prep work and filled out all of the day's scorebooks on Thursday night, I had little to get done in the morning before leaving.

Thank goodness for Garmin!  When I first moved to Macomb, I looked at a state map to get to Bloomington.  I took Route 136 across the state, and missed my turn in Havana.  I drove almost to Springfield before realizing I was headed in the wrong direction.  This was several years ago when my cell phone was slightly smaller than the "Zack Morris phone" from Saved by the Bell, and cell phone towers were almost non-existent in rural places like, Mason County.

Due to the lack of any cell reception, I had to use a pay phone at the Casey's in San Jose....once I finally got back to Route 136.  I had no idea how to use a pay phone, and the clerk looked at me like I was asking her what year it was.  She was dumbfounded that I didn't know how to use a pay phone.  In my defense, the only time I used a pay phone was when I was a kid and growing up in a small town, there wasn't much to do...so we would hang out at the Community Center/park, and make prank phone calls.  Weren't those days great?!  You could make prank phone calls, and the person on the other end had no idea where the call was coming from!  Caller I.D. has taken all of the fun out of prank calls. 

Anyway, with Garmin, I just head to Peoria and jump on I-474 in Bartonville, and cruise over on I-74 to Bloomington.  It's a good drive, it's almost two hours, but it doesn't seem like it.

I arrived at Redbird Arena around 10:45 and checked in with Matt Troha and picked up my media packet and found my seat.  A great spot on press row, just a few feet from half court. 

With plenty of time, I set up the equipment and finished the rest of the prep, which consisted of getting starters and calculating some stats.  The game started as cold as you can get for the Springfield Senators, getting shut out in the first quarter.  It was Montini on top 17-0 after eight minutes.

The Lady Broncos extended that lead to 19-0, before Springfield scored early in the 2nd quarter.  From that point on, the Senators battled back, and it was a 29-17 game at halftime.  This game featured three of the five first team Associated Press All-Staters.  Whitney Adams (North Carolina) and Whitney Holloway (Notre Dame) represent Montini, while Zahna Medley (junior receiving countless D-1 offers) represents Springfield.

Both teams scored 10 points in the 3rd quarter, with Montini taking a 39-27 lead into the 4th quarter.  Springfield chipped into that lead, and came to within 6 points, trailing 44-38 midway through the 4th quarter, however Montini was able to make free throws down the stretch.  The Broncos were 14-16 from the free throw line in the 4th quarter, and 20-24 at the line for the game.

In the first half, Montini was in foul trouble, picking up 6 quick fouls to Springfield's 1.  It evened out, and Montini had 9 fouls in the first half to Springfield's 5.  It was much different with Springfield fouling late, and the Senators finished with 15 fouls in the 2nd half, to Montini's 8.

Montini outscored Springfield 16-12 in the 4th quarter, and the Lady Broncos advance to the Class 3A state championship game for the 2nd year in a row, winning 55-39.  Kiki Wilson scored 18 points for Montini, and Whitney Holloway added 15 points.  Zahna Medley scored 13 points to lead Springfield, and Sloane Chapman finished with 10 points. 

Six of the ten starts were seniors.  The only underclassmen were Montini junior Tianna Brown, and a trio of Senators, Zahna Medley (Jr.), Kelsey Hulcher (Jr.), and Ashton Williams (So.).  Just because Montini starts four seniors doesn't mean they won't reload.  The Lady Broncos feature a pair of 6'4" sophomores in Malayna Johnson (3 points, 4 rebounds) and Diamond Thompson.  Both are receiving a lot of interest from Division-1 programs.  Johnson is the younger sister of Michala Johnson, who is averaging about 5 minutes/game at UCONN. 

Game 146 Miles:  115