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Eager Benet begins girls basketball season like it finished last year

Seniors Elise Stout and Kathleen Doyle sensed the special feeling for the Benet girls basketball team's season opener Tuesday.

The defending Class 4A champion came out with enthusiasm, energy and hustle - and seven missed shots.

"That's the adrenaline in us," Stout said with a smile. "I don't think we were too perfect, but that's expected as a first game, playing together the first time as a team."

When Doyle, the four-year starter and Nebraska recruit, drove the lane and converted after a scoreless 2½ minutes, the Redwings were on their way to a 58-32 victory over St. Ignatius in Lisle.

Benet opened a 10-0 lead in the first five minutes. The Redwings later had a 13-point run between the first and second quarters for a 29-5 advantage en route to a 36-11 halftime lead.

"It happens every year. The first game is sloppy," Benet coach Joe Kilbride said. "Now it's over with but part of it is we've got to develop a better feel. Last night we had late practice and they were just jumping out of their skins. They were so anxious to play. Now we can get on to just playing basketball."

Stout, Doyle and junior Katherine Jaseckas are the returning starters from last year's state final. On Tuesday Stout had 11 points, 7 rebounds and 4 steals, Doyle had 10 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists and Jaseckas had 12 rebounds and 2 blocks.

Reserves Lauren Stack and Megan Will each had 8 points. Stack, a 5-foot-10 freshman, also had 8 rebounds and 3 steals.

"I think we have a lot of players that didn't get as much time last year that'll help us out," Doyle said. "I'll just do my part to help get us wins, just trying to get people involved, get into the flow early in the season."

The victory was sweeter for Doyle because her aunt is St. Ignatius coach Cara Doyle, who took over in Doyle's freshman year. Kathleen Doyle now owns a 4-0 record.

"Thankfully," Kathleen Doyle said. "It's been a fun little rivalry. We have that connection where we talk about basketball a lot so it's always fun when we get to test it on the court."

Cara Doyle is married to the brother of Kathleen Doyle's father.

"I (also) have two nieces on the sophomore team and one on the freshman team. It's a really fun night for me," Cara Doyle said. "I love (Kathleen) as a person, a niece and family member, and seeing her play is a good reminder that there's people like that in the stands with every kid on the court."

The game provided a glimpse at the kind of reception the Redwings can expect from every opponent this season after achieving the program's first state championship.

"I think we recognized that every team is going to give us their best shot so we're just going to use their energy combined with ours to try to get things done to win games," Stout said.

"We talked about it at the beginning of the summer. It's over. We're not defending anything," Kilbride said. "We're starting over with a new group. (But) everybody in the state's going after us. We're going after everybody in the state and we'll see what happens. Our kids have got to embrace the challenge every night."

Opening with Benet was quite a shock for much of the Wolfpack. St. Ignatius graduated five seniors and has just one senior starter this season and two on the roster.

"When you open against the state champions and, in my humble opinion, one of the best players in the state, it's a little bit of an awakening," Cara Doyle said. "We did some nice things and we have to improve, improve, improve. Benet is such a quality program and good litmus test for us."

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