Benet reaches state semifinals

BLOOMINGTON - The Benet girls basketball team arrived at the Class 4A Illinois Wesleyan supersectional in high gear, having scored in the 80s in both sectional victories.

The Redwings hit the Shirk Center floor running but then needed to turn down the tempo late to survive a hearty comeback effort from a young and previously undefeated Edwardsville team, 61-50 on Monday night.

Benet (32-3) advanced to state semifinals and will face Homewood-Flossmoor on Friday at Redbird Arena. It is the Redwings' first state appearance in the four-class system and first overall since the 1997-98 season.

"We knew we could do it," said junior point guard Kathleen Doyle, who led Benet with 17 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks. "It was a dream when the season started, but then we realized it was definitely a possibility. We're just so glad it came true."

Benet jumped on Edwardsville (30-1) with its high-pressure defense and led by 16 points early in the second quarter. It was tempting to assume the Redwings were a foregone conclusion for the state semifinals down the road in Normal.

"I think our kids thought the same thing," said Benet coach Joe Kilbride. "But I told them Edwardsville was down 10-nothing to Rock Island in the sectional and came back to win that game. They're undefeated for a reason."

Sure enough, the Tigers took advantage of Benet's cold shooting in the second quarter to trim the lead to 27-22 by halftime. Then twice in the third quarter, Edwardsville got within 1 point.

"Our pressure got to them in the beginning," Doyle said. "Give them credit for giving us a tough game. Once they got it close, we knew we just had to rebound the ball a little bit better."

Doyle hit a pretty floater from the lane with 3:51 left to give Benet a 49-41 lead. That's when Kilbride hit the brakes on the offense by spreading the floor and running the clock.

Doyle found a wide-open Emily Schramek for an easy basket, and the Redwings made 9 of 13 free throws the rest of the way to seal it.

"I thought the first four minutes would dictate the game," said Edwardsville coach Lori Blade, who started two sophomores and a freshman. "But even as bad as it was, we got back in it. We just didn't get a couple of breaks here and there when we got it to (1 point). But I guarantee you we gave you a better game than they thought they would get."

Benet forced Edwardsville into 13 turnovers - 9 in first quarter.

"The first quarter was a lot them and a lot us," Blade said. "The next three quarters we responded well. But you just can't get down 16 points and have much of an opportunity."

Doyle had 10 of her 17 points in the first half.

"If she's not all-state, I don't have any idea who is," Kilbride said. "There were more colleges at this game than I know. She's really hard to guard in open space, and she was able to kill some clock late and get us some easy buckets."

Senior guard Emily Eshoo added 16 points for Benet.

Six-foot Edwardsville sophomore Criste'on Waters' 12 points and 11 rebounds, while sophomore Makenzie Silvey had 17 points.