The Montini Catholic girls’ basketball team has started off the season with a 5-0 record that included four wins in the Willowbrook Invite, led by Nikki Kerstein who reached the 1,000 point milestone during a win over Lockport.
Willowbrook Invite
The Broncos kicked the season off in the Willowbrook Invite at Willowbrook High School on Nov. 16 with the first game against Plainfield East. Victoria Matulevicius led the charge with a double/double in a 79-48 win.
Matulevicius had 13 points and 12 boards, and Kerstein tallied 19 points and five steals in the game. Shea Carver had 14 points and eight boards and Lily Spanos also got into double digits with 11 points. Alyssa Epps narrowly missed a double/double with eight points and nine boards. Jordan Mogilinski, Audrey Kinney and Lauren Mellish each had four points, while Riley White and Natalie Gartlan rounded out the scoring with two points apiece.
On Nov. 17 the Broncos beat Lockport 59-47 in the second game of the tournament, with Kerstein scoring her 1,000th career point. Kerstein drove to her right, got fouled on the way to the hoop and landed the bucket for the score. She led the team with 20 points on the night. Epps scored 13 points, Matulevicius had 12 points and Kinney added eight points in the win.
The Broncos improved to 3-0 with a lopsided 78-20 win over Morgan Park on Nov. 18, led by a 17-point effort by Matulevicius. The team had four players in double figures that also included Kinney with 14 points, Epps with 13 points and Spanos with 10 points.
On Nov. 20, Montini Catholic finished the tournament with an undefeated 4-0 record to take first place with a 60-32 victory over Willowbrook. Matulevicius and Kerstein both hit double figures with 15 and 12 points respectively. Spanos and Mogilinski had seven points, while Kinney added six points in the win.
Kerstein was first team All-Tournament and Matulevicius was second team.
Montini Catholic 63, Glenbrook South 31
The Broncos were coming off a fantastic tournament showing with Kerstein and Matulevicius stepping up and showing why they are two of the top players in the conference. They continued this strong play in a non-conference matchup with Glenbrook South (2-3) in a 63-31 win over the Titans.
Montini Catholic shot 56% as a team and made 50% of their shots from deep. They held the Titans to 24% shooting and 26% from downtown. The Broncos had advantages in rebounds 34-22, assists 13-8, and a 12-3 advantage in steaks. They also recorded a pair of blocks on the night.
Matulevicius had her best showing of the season with 20 points, while Kerstein and Epps each had 14 points in the win. Carver had five points, Kinney scored four points, Gartlan had three points, Mogilinski scored two points and Spanos rounded out the scoring with a point.
Next up for Montini Catholic is a home game against DePaul College Prep on Nov. 29 at 6:30 p.m.