Prasse hits her mark for Benet
Christen Prasse isn't about to get caught up in her own numbers.
Not this time of year.
“Winning is more important than me having a good game,” the Benet senior said. “I didn't even realize I had scored 1,000.”
Prasse is a big reason why No. 6 seed Benet is moving on, scoring a personal-high 34 points — passing 1,000 varsity points along the way — as the Redwings held off No. 11 Naperville North 60-54 at the Class 4A Benet regional.
Prasse scored 19 points in the first half, then hit her last eight free throws in the fourth quarter. Benet (20-9), weathered a 6 minute, 13 second scoring drought in the second half, then survived a late Naperville North 3-point barrage. Prasse hit a pair of free throws with 29 seconds left after Lauren LoLordo's fourth 3 had cut the Benet lead to 54-50.
“We don't win tonight without Chrissie, with her leadership being a senior,” Benet coach Peter Paul said. “We panicked a little bit, lost our mojo.”
Prasse was on early, hitting four of her first five shots with three 3s in the first quarter. She scored her 1,000th point on a gorgeous crossover dribble and drive midway through the second quarter. Prasse's fifth 3 gave Benet its biggest lead, 41-28 with 4:10 left in the third quarter.
“I just felt real confident in my shot,” said Prasse, who joined older sister Sidney on the 1,000 point list. “I knew to win we had to make shots and mine were falling. We all can shoot. Tonight was my night.”
An early playoff exit never crossed the mind of Prasse, who led Benet to a sectional final with her sister last year.
“Everybody was like, 'What if you lose, you're done with your high school career,'” Prasse said. “I was like, 'We're not going to lose.'”
Naperville North (14-14) trailed 48-39 with 2:44 left after a Prasse score before Huskies senior LoLordo hit four late 3s to nearly bring her team back. Too little, too late.
“Lolo getting hot was awesome, that's a great way for her to end her high school career,” Naperville North coach Jacquie Discipio said, “but it was a little too late. We were fighting an uphill battle.”
Zoe Swift scored 17 points and Kayla Sharples had 14 points and 14 rebounds for the Huskies. Discipio sensed her team let a golden opportunity go by when the Huskies shaved just 6 points off Benet's lead during the six-minute drought.
“We had opportunities,” Discipio said. “We just couldn't put the ball in the basket when we needed to, and Prasse was amazing.”
Emily Schramek added 10 points for Benet, which advances to play Naperville Central Thursday. The Redwings lost to the Redhawks 50-41 in November, but that was without a then-injured Prasse.
“We know we're the underdog,” Prasse said. “It should be a good game.”
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