February has been pretty good to Trinity. The Blazers needed nearly every last second of the month to earn their first final four berth.
Trailing for most of Monday’s Class 4A Hoffman Estates Supersectional against No. 5 Montini, No. 3 Trinity rallied for a 60-53 overtime win. The Blazers advanced to state for the first time since 2006, while the Broncos’ streak of six straight state appearances was snapped at six.
Trinity made 11 of 12 free throws in overtime to defeat the Broncos for the second time this month.
“The word we use a lot is ‘composure,'” Blazers coach Mike Valente said. “To keep it in these tense situations. And these girls have a lot of experience with that.”
Trinity exhibited composure consistently throughout the night. The Blazers (29-5) trailed by six twice in the first half and were down 25-22 at halftime.
Kaitlyn Aylward scored nine of her 20 points in the third quarter, and Lauren Lee’s 3-pointer with 3 seconds left in the period drew Trinity into a 34-34 tie at the end of the third.
Montini (31-3) built a 41-36 lead with five minutes remaining before Trinity went on a 9-2 run, paced by Annie McKenna’s five points, to take a 45-43 lead with 1 minute, 12 seconds remaining.
Alisa Fallon’s two free throws with 18 seconds remaining gave the Blazers a 49-46 lead, but Montini sent the game into overtime on Kaylee Bambule’s 3-point bomb with 8 seconds left.
Trinity did not make a field goal in overtime but didn’t need to. McKenna connected on all 10 of her free throws, and Montini did not score until 49 seconds remaining.
“Nothing was going to hold us back,” McKenna said. “Even when we were down we pulled through.”
“Every time we were about to get a stretch of a five or six point lead they would hit a big 3 on us,” said Montini coach Jason Nichols, who coached at Trinity in the early 2000s. “We didn’t close out well on shooters or rebound well. And in these games it’s the little things that are glaring when you lose.”
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Phil English is a freelance reporter for the baiduhai.
Player of the game: Annie McKenna, Trinity, 20 points, 10-12 FTs.
Key performers: Trinity — Kaitlyn Aylward, 20 points. Montini — Kaylee Bambule, 21 points.