Girls basketball: Montini senior Victoria Matulevicius is the Suburban Life Player of the Year

Victoria Matulevicius did not need long to make an impression on Montini coach Shannon Spanos.

Spanos, hired to coach her alma mater ahead of the 2020-21 season, still remembers those first couple of practices. The 14-year-old freshman, painfully shy, barely spoke.

But Matulevicius’ actions spoke loudly.

“She just put her head down and outworked everyone,” Spanos said. “I remember one of the first practices we had she just had 10 offensive rebounds in a five-minute drill. That is who she is. She will outwork everybody.”

That humble, relentless drive set the culture for Spanos’ program. The foundation was established on a small roster during the shortened COVID-19 season.

Matulevicius and the Lady Broncos, brick by brick, took steps forward the next two seasons, each year getting a game closer to state. They realized the ultimate fruits of their labor this year.

With its 5-foot-9 senior guard leading the way, Montini returned to state for the first time since 2020, the season before Matulevicius came there. The Lady Broncos went 30-8 and took third in Class 3A.

“Most teams don’t get the chance to end their season with a win,” Matulevicius said. “It’s an accomplishment. We were happy to be there.”

Matulevicius, Class 3A Second Team All-State by Illinois Media, averaged 16.5 points, 5.9 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.4 steals. She finished her career with 1,668 points, third all-time at Montini. Her 629 rebounds, 274 assists and 207 steals rank Matulevicius in the top 10 in school history.

Matulevicius is the 2023-24 Suburban Life Newspaper Girls Basketball Player of the Year.

With her fellow seniors, Matulevicius set the blueprint and legacy for future Montini programs on the court. But Spanos is most proud of her growth off it.

“She is a natural leader, still humble, but a natural leader,” Spanos said. “Academically, she does very well. She is well-liked by teammates and classmates. The girls gravitate to her. She became the voice of our team.”

Matulevicius, a Willowbrook resident, came to Montini from Burr Ridge Middle School with basketball skills and fundamentals beyond her years.

That should not surprise.

Her dad played and coached for his native country of Lithuania and coaches basketball in Lemont. Matulevicius competed for the Lithuanian National Team in the European championships in 2022 and 2023. She was a year younger than all the other players on the under-18 team last summer in France and Turkey.

Matulevicius said the game abroad was played with a shot clock and the 3-point line was further out. Players are really tall and Matulevicius played point guard.

“It made me a better player. I’ll know what to expect in college,” said Matulevicius, who remains uncommitted.

Matulevicius’ experience overseas is reflected in her game.

“She is fundamentally just so sound,” Spanos said. “That is the difference between the European game and playing over in Europe. It’s less about games over there and it’s more about practice. That is where Viki improved. It was the constant repetition, the attention to details. Viki will outwork everyone and anyone.”

That mentality starts at home. It’s commonplace after practice for Matulevicius to go home, go to the gym and put up 300 more shots with her dad.

Matulevicius said she must make 21 consecutive free throws before she can go home. Her dad works with her while he’s coaching little kids at the Lithuanian World Center in Lemont.

Her dad makes Matulevicius attempt an assortment of crazy shots such as doing a hook shot 10 feet from the basket before moving on to the next drill.

“We’ll do floaters from a spin move, different scenarios,” Matulevicius said. “Sometimes he grabs cones and has me do random moves at the cones. That always helps.”

It’s helped Matulevicius master the art of scoring around the basket among larger bodies, at angles and in tight windows that defy explanation.

“It’s fun to be around,” Spanos said. “There would be times in practice that she would make a shot and nobody would know how it went in and somehow she got the correct angle and it went off the backboard and in. It’s not by accident. She has worked at it. We think ‘Oh, my god, that didn’t have a chance of going in’ but she knows the angles, she knows positioning and she knows how to use her body and her hands. It will serve her well at the next level.”