# 2 Bolingbrook survives wounded #3 Montini
By Drake Skleba
No. 2 Bolingbrook slipped past No. 3 Montini in the marquee matchup of the 2010 McDonald's Girls Shootout Monday at Willowbrook. Montini, playing without Connecticut-bound Michala Johnson, gave a valiant effort but fell 51-43.
Johnson tore her ACL on her right knee in a game against Guerin Prep. Previously the future Huskie tore her left ACL, and missed all but one game of the 2008-2009 season.
Bolingbrook outscored Montini 22-12 in the final quarter for the win.
The Raiders were led by 6-foot-2 sophomore C Morgan Tuck, who scored 20 points and hauled in seven rebounds. Junior guard Ariel Massengale scored 17 points. Eight of her points came in the fourth quarter.
"We played hard tonight to pick up the win," said Tuck. "I was looking forward to playing against Johnson. Montini really played well without her and really came after us."
Five-foot-10 junior forward Falon Edwards scored the final six points for the Raiders. She added three huge rebounds down the stretch to help lead the Raiders to victory.
"I think I did a pretty good job down the stretch," said Edwards. "We all played very hard today. We played just as hard as if Johnson was in the lineup."
Montini was led by its 5-foot-4 junior guard Whitney Holloway. She had a superb game with 18 points, which led the Lady Broncos. Six-foot-2 junior C Whitney Adams did a creditable job replacing Johnson in the post. She scored eight points, all in the second half, and hauled down nine rebounds.
Both clubs battled fiercely in the first half. Bolingbrook led 18-12 at the half. Tuck led the Raiders with eight points; Holloway equaled Tuck with eight points.
In the third quarter Holloway put on a show. Her third basket of the quarter brought the Broncos within 29-26 with 37 seconds left . Adams scored an old-fashioned three-point play to tie things up at 29 with 19 seconds left. Holloway stole the ball with five seconds to go and her subsequent layup with one second left gave the Lady Broncos a 31-29 lead after three quarters.
The battle raged on in the fourth quarter. With 5:02 left Bolingbrook junior Taylor Tucks' bucket gave the Lady Raiders a 34-33 lead. Sister Morgan hit two free throws that increased the Raiders lead to 36-33.
With 4:14 left Adams tied things up at 36 with a three-point shot.
Bolingbrook's Massengale answered with a 5-0 run of her own. The Raider junior answered Adams three with one of her own and then added an additional bucket with 3:09 left. That gave the Raiders a 41-36 lead. Senior Nicosia Henry (two points, seven rebounds, four steals, three assists) had a steal and score that closed out a 7-0 Lady Raider run and gave Bolingbrook a 43-36 lead.
"Great game. Both teams really played hard. We really wanted this one," stated Massengale. "I really played hard tonight. I knew they would be concentrated on Morgan. I was able to do a good job for us."
Bolingbrook's Taylor Tuck finished with six points and six rebounds for the Lady Raiders.
"We did not play our best ball tonight," said Bolingbrook head coach Anthony Smith. "I was happy with the way we competed. We played very hard, but we had too many lapses during the course of the game. We will work very hard in practice to improve."
Six-foot-2 senior Alison Seberger scored seven points and hauled in four rebounds for Montini. Senior guard Mallory Sosnovich hit two three-point shots for all her points.
"The girls really showed some great heart and played great today without Michala," stated Montini head coach Jason Nichols. "Whitney Holloway is one of the best point guards in all Illinois. I am very proud of the way my girls play tonight."
