Benet plans to enjoy once-in-a-lifetime moment
Benet's girls basketball players enjoyed the trip to Bloomington-Normal on Monday so much, they're going back this weekend.
The Redwings are invited guests, of course, earning the return trip with Monday's 61-50 supersectional victory at Illinois Wesleyan University.
This time they'll head to Illinois State University for the Class 4A semifinals at 6:30 p.m. Friday. The third-place or championship game will follow Saturday night at Redbird Arena.
It's a new experience for these Redwings, some of whom weren't born the last time their school sent a girls basketball team downstate in 1998.
"For many of the kids on this team, that's prehistoric," Benet coach Joe Kilbride joked.
The boys team placed second last year.
"We're going to figure it all out," Kilbride said. "We're going to live in the moment. It's a once-in-a-lifetime moment."
Kilbride believes the Redwings (32-3) have as good a chance as any of the four teams there to win the state championship. Fremd meets New Trier in the 8:15 p.m. Friday semifinal, right after the Redwings play Homewood-Flossmoor (20-6).
"I think we've got a shot. That's all you can ask for this time of year," he said. "This is a group of girls who've been very tough-minded and resilient all year."
It helps that there are no East Suburban Catholic Conference teams in the Final Four. All three of the Redwings' losses this season came in ESCC play, where they tied for third.
"It would be quite ironic if we were to end up with a better finish in the state than conference," Kilbride said.
Homewood-Flossmoor boasts 6-foot-1 guard/forward Faith Suggs. She averages 15.3 points and 6.3 rebounds a game. Suggs doesn't take many 3-pointers, but she does get to the free-throw line a lot.
Suggs will play at Duke next season.
Senior guard Bria Stallworth averages 11.7 points and 4.2 assists a game.
The Vikings also have 6-5 sophomore center Eva Rubin. She averages 6.5 points and 3.4 rebounds a game.
"They present a challenge because they can go really big with (Rubin) in the game or go small and get into you with full-court pressure," Kilbride said.
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