Mitchell returns in Montini rout

For a team that has had as much recent success as Montini, it is conceivable to characterize the last stretch of games as a rough patch.

Though the Broncos were 5-1 in their past six contests heading into Tuesday's matchup with St. Ignatius, four of those wins came by single digits, two by just a single point.

That all changed against the Wolfpack.

With three players entering double figures, led by the game-high 16 points of Lindsey Jarosinski, Montini cruised to a 63-35 victory over St. Ignatius in a Girls Catholic Athletic Conference Red Division affair in Lombard.

"We've been focusing on trying to play a full four quarters," Jarosinski said. "Sometimes we've just played well in the second half or in the first half. It was good that we competed all four quarters.

"We want to be trending upward now. We went through a little bit of a down stretch and now we want to go up."

Certainly helping out the cause is the return of point guard Sam Mitchell, playing in her second game since missing time with a knee injury. The junior knocked down a trio of 3-pointers for the Broncos (25-2, 5-0), finishing with 13 points.

"It makes all the difference in the world," said Montini coach Jason Nichols about Mitchell's return to the lineup. "And she is not even 100 percent yet. She has to get her legs back. She is a good player."

Mitchell scored 8 points in the opening quarter as the home team jumped out to a 14-5 advantage. Jarosinski then made four straight inside baskets in the second, helping to extend the margin to 30-13 by halftime.

Aaliyah Patty totaled 5 points for Montini in each of the third and fourth quarters as St. Ignatius (16-7, 2-3) never got within 15 the rest of the way. Patty ended up with 15 points and 7 rebounds.

"St. Ignatius has had some nice wins this year," Nichols said. "They beat a good Bogan team, they beat Benet earlier in the year. To win by that amount and to play as well as we did is a good sign for us. Maybe we can find a groove now.

"This team grinds, they get through things. This is a different team, it's not a big running team and a press all the time type of team. It's more a possession team. We have just been inefficient on offense and that has hurt us because we have still been holding teams to 30 points."