Benet learns about one of nation's best players

There may be no better girls basketball player in the state of Illinois than Iowa's Caitlin Clark.

That might be some consolation for host Benet, which faced the 5-foot-11 senior guard from West Des Moines Dowling Catholic in the Chicagoland Invitational Showcase on Saturday afternoon.

The good news? The Redwings won't likely have to face a player of her caliber the rest of this season.

Clark, who turned down Notre Dame to stay home and play at the University of Iowa next year, averages 33 points a game and is in the conversation as one of the top prep players in the nation.

She looked the part in a 69-58 victory over the Redwings, nearly recording a quadruple double: 36 points, 12 rebounds, 9 steals and 8 assists.

"We knew that she was the best player on their team, and we game prepped her and we knew she was going to put up 20 or 30 shots no matter what," said Benet junior guard Kendall Moriarty, who along with her senior sister Lexi drew the unenviable assignment of guarding Clark.

"We knew that, but we wanted to make her work for it."

That she did, especially in the second quarter, when the Moriarty sisters and junior guard Molly Sheehan held her to just a single field goal and two free throws.

Meanwhile, the Redwings' offense tuned up after falling behind in a 23-7 first quarter. The Redwings reeled off a 16-4 run that pulled them within 27-23.

They weren't done. A 9-2 run on three 3-pointers to start the second half got Benet to within 33-32. Looking good, eh?

Well, Clark is a pretty special player. She scored 9 to finish the period, including a step-up 3 at the buzzer to give the Maroons a 47-35 lead, which essentially made the fourth quarter academic. The closest Benet could get was 47-40 on a 3 by senior guard Kendall Holmes to start the fourth, with a layup off a turnover by fellow senior Brooke Schramek on the ensuing play.

Meanwhile, Clark scored 14 in the period, including a 9-for-10 showing from the line.

"I honestly think we guarded her well," Benet coach Joe Kilbride said. "We were able to get it out of her hands, but she's really good at finding people, and those other kids made plays."

Holmes, who earned Benet's Most Valuable Player of the game by scoring 24, overcame a slow start to score 20 in the second half, including four 3-pointers.

"We were excited to go up against her, because we knew it was going to be a good test for our team," Holmes said. "Unfortunately, we didn't execute well and take care of the ball well enough."

This is true. The Redwings turned the ball over 20 times and got outrebounded 23-17.

Schramek, who scored 23 and grabbed 6 rebounds, is going to play at Wisconsin next year, so she'll see more of Clark going forward, though she saw plenty Saturday.

"She's a great shooter, she can find the open player, no-look passes," Schramek said. "I'm looking forward to playing her in the Big Ten."

The feeling is mutual.

"I've never played against her before, I kind of know who she is," Clark said of Schramek. "She's really good, she's tall, she's physical. She can shoot the 3 ball, so a lot of respect for her for sure."