Fenton finishes against IC Catholic Prep
Amari Benbow admitted to feeling somewhat uncomfortable while unhurriedly dribbling the basketball in the fourth quarter Saturday afternoon at IC Catholic Prep.
"I was so nervous," the Fenton senior said. "I'm not used to just holding the ball. I'm used to pushing the ball up rather than just standing there dribbling."
It's a feeling she hopes to get used to soon.
Fenton stormed past the Knights in the second quarter on its way to a 74-56 Metro Suburban Conference Blue Division victory in Elmhurst. It was the Bison's third victory of the season, equaling their total from 2016-17 and surpassing the two victories of 2015-16. The Bison went three seasons without a conference win.
The Bison usually substitute in groups of five every minute or two, but for most of the fourth quarter they entered in groups of four, with Benbow remaining on the court to dictate the flow of the offense, slowing the usually frenetic pace to a relative crawl, at least by Fenton standards.
"It's foreign for me to say it, and for them to try to do it like that," Fenton coach Dave Mello, who played 17 girls, with 14 of them scoring. "But hopefully we have a lot more opportunities to do that. It's fun the way we're playing. The girls are having a good time. The parents in the stands are enjoying it. But when it's winning time, we've got to be smart."
The Bison (3-7, 2-3) had to overcome a strong ICCP start. Junior guard Jaida Smith scored 10 of her game-best 22 points in the first quarter, staking the Knights (3-8, 1-4) to a 20-17 lead.
"We were well-rested," Knights coach Kelsey James said of the first quarter. "We just got tired. When we're only playing six, seven girls, it's hard to compete with 15, 16. They just got tired."
Benbow - who led the Bison with 16 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists - credited a little senior leadership for the Bison's turnaround.
"Our team captain (Jamie Minard) she picked us back up. She told us we needed to get our head in the game, because at the beginning we weren't," Benbow said. "But we got better."
The Bison took over in the second quarter. Junior Jezalyn Tapia tied the score, and Minard gave the Bison their first lead at 22-20. Benbow handed Fenton the lead for good with a 3-pointer, and by halftime the Bison led 42-32 after senior Jenny Martinez beat the buzzer with a 3-pointer.
"We know we'll see them at full strength at our place and that will be much more challenging," Mello said. "(The Knights) fought today. I mean, if we weren't on fire in the first half it would've been a different story. Minus however many girls they were minus, the way they played was still impressive. But I couldn't have been any happier with our effort."
Fenton sophomore Joni Lucas joined Benbow in double figures with 10 points. Jackie Lara added 10 points for the Knights.