Benet ousts Naperville North again

A lot of things played a role in Benet earning the top seed at the Class 4A Oswego East sectional, and unfortunately for Naperville North, most of them were on display in Thursday's regional final at Joliet West.

The 29-3 Redwings picked up another huge game from junior point guard Kathleen Doyle while knocking off the Huskies 64-47, making it two straight regional final wins over Naperville North (15-10).

But Benet also saw Elise Stout play one of her best games with a personal-high 19 points to go with 4 steals.

Throw in a pair of 3-pointers and 12 points from Emily Schramek, and the Redwings had just too much firepower for the Huskies. On the defensive end, meanwhile, Emily Eshoo did a standout job of limiting Huskies star Kayla Sharples to "only" 17 points and center Katherine Jaseckas added 3 blocked shots.

"She really came to life, and that was great to see," Benet coach Joe Kilbride said of Stout's big night, which included an 8-for-8 night from the floor. "We've got our big three, but these other 3, 4, 5 kids step up on any given day and make us really hard to guard. It was great to see."

The No. 1 Redwings, who will face No. 5 Bolingbrook in Monday's sectional semifinal in Oswego, jumped ahead 12-2. Then they closed the first half with a 7-0 run for a 38-28 lead after Sharples had scored inside to get the Huskies to within 3 points.

The late surge to the first half carried over into a strong third quarter as Benet took a 53-37 lead into the fourth quarter en route to claiming the repeat regional title.

Doyle, who equaled a personal high and led all scorers with 25 points, scored 11 points in the first quarter and 18 in the first half while setting the tone with a combination of strong drives to the rim and midrange jumpers that she unleashed before Naperville North defenders could get a hand in her face.

But it was a pressure defense that forced 29 turnovers, and the tough attention given to Sharples by both Eshoo and Doyle, that played just as big a role in the Redwings' win.

"I think their pressure got to us this time, no question about it," Huskies coach Jason Dycus said. "I think our guards had too many turnovers. We were out of sync and out of flow offensively, but it was because of their pressure and they're a great team. There's no doubt about it. But we have to learn to handle that pressure better."

Doyle, who had 6 steals to go along with her big offensive outburst, was happy to see Stout have a breakout game and to see her team contain Sharples, who tallied 30 points two nights earlier against Naperville Central.

"She's our secret weapon - well, not anymore," Doyle said of Stout. "We should make sure NCTV doesn't post that (video). Keep her under the radar."

As for guarding Sharples, Doyle added: "We tried to make sure we get a wall up. She's really good at finishing around the basket. Getting a wall up is really important and I think we did a really good job of stopping her in full court. That was kind of a main focus, and I think we did a good job of executing the game plan."

Stout said the team's quick starts have been a key to its success this season. But the junior guard plays all out all the time.

"I just came out with energy and tried to get out on the floor and get the loose balls and keep the energy up," she said. "Usually our goal is to start out quick because when we start out quick the momentum carries on throughout. We did that tonight."

The Huskies, who got 13 points from Caleigh Corbett along with 7 points and 7 rebounds from CeCe Pope, had their moments as well, but Benet just had too many weapons and too many of its own moments.