Montalvo fuels SLAM girls’ basketball team’s victory as it chases return trip to state
Despite all it accomplished on the way to Lakeland last season, SLAM Miami’s girls’ basketball team was still hurting when they lost in the semifinals.
Senior wing Adaya Montalvo was in even more pain a short time later when she tore her ACL while competing in a showcase event in front of college scouts.
Neither Montalvo nor the Titans let either setback stop them.
On Tuesday night, both showed how strong they have recovered as Montalvo scored 18 points to help SLAM secure a 75-52 victory over Fort Lauderdale Cardinal Gibbons in a Region 4-3A semifinal at the Titans’ home gym.
SLAM (15-12) will next host Miami Carrollton, which ousted Fort Lauderdale Pine Crest in its semifinal, on Friday at 7 p.m. in the regional final for a chance to return to Lakeland next week.
“This has been the culmination of everything we’ve done this season, testing ourselves and playing the best teams in every class, and the girls look like they’re putting it all together,” SLAM Miami coach Krystal Cabrera said. “We’re a little more seasoned and we returned our core players who know what it looks like. With the rigors of the season, we’re ready for this moment.”
Montalvo is one of the team captains Cabrera is referring to who keyed SLAM’s run to state last season.
She spent most of the offseason off the court rehabbing her injury.
Montalvo, whose two sisters, Alivia, an eighth-grader, and Aubreyanna, a junior, are also on the team, returned to the Titans in December.
But it took some time before Montalvo felt like herself on the court.
“It took me about 10 games and a lot of practices. It was rough the first month and I’ve been a little inconsistent too, but I feel like I’m finally finding my groove and my teammates have helped me a lot with that,” Montalvo said. “I feel like the coaches give me confidence because, honestly, I was doubting myself coming off the ACL. I just want to go back to state and make it a big comeback.”
“AD,” as Montalvo’s teammates and coaches call her, took another big step in that goal on Tuesday.
She set the tone for SLAM’s win with 10 quick points in the first quarter, which put the Titans ahead and allowed them to lead for the duration of the game following a 2-2 tie.
“AD played with a lot of energy and that kid came back at midseason and is the heartbeat of this team,” Cabrera said. “Seeing her play like that after everything she’s been through is a great feeling.”
From that point on, it was a collective effort, which Cabrera believes will be the key if SLAM is to achieve its ultimate goal.
Samantha Bautista drilled four 3-pointers and finished with 14 points. Makayla Turner added 10 points while Taeler Suber and Aubreyanna Montalvo each scored nine points.
The Titans had to contend with Cardinal Gibbons’ senior Savanna Nicholson, who scored a game-high 30 points and made six 3-pointers.
“(Nicholson) is a really good player and we knew we had to respect her game and stop her, and still she had a phenomenal night,” Cabrera said.
But the Chiefs (16-9) were unable to slow down SLAM in the paint and yielded too many open shots from the perimeter as well. Makayla Midgett also had 10 points for Gibbons.
“Most of us have been in this program for a long time and we want something new,” Adaya Montalvo said. “The state tournament is a different type of feeling so when we step out there, it’s going to be a different hunger and we’re gonna show out.”
