Neuqua Valley comeback comes up short against Benet
Benet junior Kendal Schramek walked out of the postgame locker room with a bag of ice on the back of her neck. Finally, it was time for her to cool off.
Schramek poured in a personal-best 27 points on 11-of-15 shooting, leading the defending state champion Redwings to a 71-60 victory against persistent Neuqua Valley at a Class 4A Benet sectional semifinal Monday.
"I was just kind of relaxed," said the 6-foot forward, who endured a bout of stomach flu Saturday. "I played to win, because I really want our team to go down(state) again, so I was like, we gotta win. I'll do whatever it takes to help my team down."
Schramek also had 7 rebounds and 3 steals.
"She was really good, and she made big plays when we needed them, during their run there," Redwings coach Joe Kilbride said. "She made a couple, Sami (Valentine) hit that one corner 3. Those were big plays."
No. 1 seed Benet (28-3) will play either No. 2 Oswego or No. 6 Bolingbrook on its home court in Thursday's sectional final. Those two teams meet in the other semifinal Tuesday night at Benet.
A 7-0 run to start the second quarter gave Benet the lead for good, and it hit 15 points when Katie Jaseckas sank a pair of free throws with 2:39 left in the third quarter.
"We wanted to conserve some energy and didn't come after them (with a press) right away," Neuqua Valley coach Mike Williams said. "They like to run, so we figured we'd try to wait, just hang tight. They hit some big shots and we missed some rebounds, that's all. Missed a few layups. What are you going to do? It was a great game, a fun game to watch."
The Redwings led by 11 going to the fourth, but the No. 5-seeded Wildcats (21-9) weren't finished despite serious foul trouble.
Kai Moon cut the margin to 62-60 with 1:48 to play, but Benet scored the next 9 points to secure the victory, seven of them coming at the free-throw line when Neuqua Valley was forced to foul.
"All year long," Williams said of his team's comeback bid. "I mean, resiliency. We talked about it. A couple of plays at the end, one foul, we were within 2 points. We've got to finish, and we've done our share of finishing. They're a good team. Not many teams have played them that hard and that well. For us it's a moral victory."
"Even when they came back, we just stayed composed," Schramek added. "We told ourselves, we're not going to get rattled. We're just going to keep playing through."
Benet's Elise Stout added 15 points, Jaseckas 14 and Nebraska recruit Kathleen Doyle 11 after being held scoreless the first half.
NIU recruit Myia Starks scored 22 points for Neuqua Valley, and Binghamton-bound Kai Moon and sophomore Megan Callahan each had 13 in a valiant effort.
"Moon and Starks are really good," Kilbride said of the two Neuqua senior guards. "Starks ... she's a tough cover. She made us work, no question about it."
Follow Orrin on Twitter @Orrin_Schwarz