Experience lifts Benet

Benet has a trio of talented, experienced players back this year, while Bartlett has just one senior on the roster.

So Friday's first-round matchup in the Tip-Off Tournament was a tough one for the Hawks, and the Redwings got big performances from its big three in a 68-39 win in Lisle.

The young Hawks were plagued by numerous turnovers, while the Benet threesome of Emily Eshoo, Emily Schramek and Kathleen Doyle combined to score 53 points as the Redwings improved to 2-0 on the year.

"I thought we played much better today than we did Tuesday night," Benet coach Joe Kilbride said. "I like the way we played today. I thought our defense was especially good."

Kilbride also especially liked the way Eshoo played in the third quarter, when the senior guard tallied 13 of her game-high 20 points to equal the Hawks' team total for the quarter. But Schramek was right behind with 17 points on the night, including a pair of 3-pointers, and Doyle did a little of everything, tallying 16 points but also blocking 5 shots, grabbing rebounds and coming away with her share of steals and assists.

Eshoo said the team's fast-paced play helped spark the squad to fast starts and the results backed the statement up as the hosts jumped ahead 17-5 after one quarter, led 36-18 at the half and were comfortably ahead by 25 points after three quarters.

"A lot of our goals from last year are pretty much the same this year," Eshoo said, when asked about playing this year without longtime coach Peter Paul, who retired after last season. "We have a really athletic team and (Kilbride) wants to capitalize on that and push the ball up and get those easy layups to get us going."

The strategy worked to perfection in the third quarter as Eshoo had three baskets on fastbreaks and also converted a three-point play on a quick move to the rim.

"I think that the fast pace and the uptempo helps my game and helps us as a team by getting on a role and getting those quick, fast shots," Eshoo said. "That helps our confidence and energy go up so we can bring even more intensity on defense."

Bartlett was paced by 12 points from Kaitlin Brohan, and the lone senior, Lauren Janczak, did her best with a tough matchup on Doyle, one of the better point guards around.

"That's a tough game to open with," Hawks coach Denise Sarna said. "Benet's a really good team and they've got a lot of veteran returners. They played really nicely together. We had a little hard time scoring and we turned the ball over too much. It was kinda your typical first game."