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Physical game ends in Benet victory

Tsimba Malonga had to leave the game after taking an elbow to the mouth jarred a tooth loose. Sophomore Brooke Schramek caught a basketball in the face that caused her right eye to swell nearly shut.

But that was nothing compared to the beatdown Benet handed Argo in Thursday's Class 4A regional at Hinsdale South.

"Their depth wore us down," Argo coach Dan McCarthy said. "Their full-court pressure. Their size. They're deep and they're big. The just imposed their will for four quarters and so we just ran out of gas there late."

Nursing a 44-42 lead with 30 seconds remaining in the third quarter, Benet (27-4) went on an 11-4 run over the next six minutes and made 7 of 10 free throws in the final 1:48 to defeat Argo 59-51 and claim the regional title.

Schramek scored 18 points, 5-foot-10 sophomore guard Kendall Holmes added 17 points and junior Clara Prasse had 12 for Benet, which went nine deep while Argo used the same five players for most of the game.

"(Our depth) helps a lot," Schramek said. "We have a very deep bench this year, and I think we're going to have a deep bench next year. That just helps with fresh legs coming in and picking up the intensity. We're always going 100 percent because we always have fresh legs."

Benet overcame a sluggish start to grab a 22-16 lead on a Schramek basket 52 seconds into the second quarter. But Argo (21-7) answered with a 16-4 run fueled by 5-8 junior guard Tadriana Heard and 5-9 forward Chatori Tyler.

Tyler led all scorers with 29 points, including a couple of NBA-distance 3-pointers.

"It's her final game and she went down kicking and fighting," McCarthy said of his two-time South Suburban Conference Red Division Player of the Year and the school's all-time leading scorer.

"The bigger the game, the bigger the performance," he added. "She was definitely ready tonight. She did everything she could to will this team to victory."

Schramek was one of several players tasked with trying to slow down Tyler.

"She was unbelievable," Schramek said. "She was shooting from almost half-court. That's a lot of respect for her. She's a really, really good player."

Benet led 52-46 with 1:41 remaining when Holmes went to the free-throw line for a bonus opportunity. She made the first and missed the second but grabbed her own rebound and was fouled again. Holmes made both ends of the second opportunity to extend the lead to 9 points.

"This was one of my better games," Holmes said. "My teammates were able to feed me the ball and I was able to knock down the shots. I wanted to do it for them. Some of those girls can't play. Some are hurt. I didn't want the season and they don't want it to end, either."

The regional title was the fifth in a row for Benet and 18th in the last 21 years.

"I thought our numbers and our intensity level eventually overcame whatever lapses in judgment we had," Benet coach Joe Kilbride said. "The first 10 possessions of the game, I don't know what we were thinking or what kind of shots we were taking.

"They were a little hyped up, a little excited, and I think that carried over and not the way you want it to carry over," he said. "They're not bad when they play the right way."

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