Tough weekend for Benet, but some great memories
NORMAL - Benet junior Brooke Schramek opted Saturday night to look ahead a few years.
"It is kind of hard, just coming down here and everyone's like, it's going to be so fun, it's going to be so fun," said Schramek, one of the Redwings who had older sisters win two straight state championships a couple of years ago. "Like, yeah, it was fun, but it could've been more fun just because they won state when they went down and we didn't. It is hard on us right now, but like Clara said, in a few years we'll look back on this. Not a lot of teams can say they were fourth in state or even got the opportunity to go down."
The Redwings couldn't make a great start hold up, falling to Rockton Hononegah 43-39 in the Class 4A third-place game.
"We all wanted state and we didn't get it last night," added senior guard Clara Prasse. "We wanted third, but fourth in the state is still something to be proud of. Obviously we're not ecstatic right now, but in the long run it's not many teams that get to come down here. I wouldn't want to come down here with any other team."
Benet coach Joe Kilbride said the Redwings might have felt a little weight on their shoulders that other teams without a recent state championship history were free of.
"We battled those expectations, quite honestly, all year long," Kilbride said. "They're tired of hearing me talk about this because it's been something we've talked about all year long, not succumbing to sort of that notion, because I think it's unfair. If they don't win state it's a failure, is the way some people look at it. I reject that completely.
"This group, we had a great season, and they did tremendous things. And they're outstanding young women and outstanding players. And I told them last night, this team holds a special place in my heart and will forever."
Benet had a great season but not a great weekend. The Redwings lost to Mother McAuley on Friday in the semifinals and didn't look like the same team that stormed through perhaps the state's toughest sectional to get to state.
"We talked today at breakfast and before the game about just, Let's play like us again today," Kilbride said. "(Friday) night we just weren't ourselves. … We came out and it looked like us again. I thought we hit some shots, had it going a little bit."
Benet (28-7) scored the game's first 12 points, but Hononegah (33-5) answered with a 14-0 run to take the lead.
"We had the lead and then we just lost it and it was hard for us to come back from that," Schramek said.
<URL destination="#photo3">Schramek led both teams with 17 points.
</URL>Marquette recruit Jordan King scored 15 for Hononegah, and Cali Schmitz added 10.