Girls Basketball: Benet beats challenge by Hinsdale South
BY NEIL SHALIN For Sun-Times Media February 8, 2013 11:20PM
Updated: February 8, 2013 11:31PM
The Hinsdale South and Benet girls basketball teams scheduled Friday’s game at Benet because they both wanted a tough opponent just before the playoffs begin next week.
From that standpoint it was very successful for both teams as the Redwings ruled for three quarters and then let down a little and had to withstand a fierce fourth-period comeback before they finally topped the Hornets 68-61.
“We made some stupid mistakes at the end,” said Christen Prasse, who led Benet with 22 points and 11 rebounds. “But good teams always find a way to win and we made our shots. In the second half we weren’t helping the helper on defense, and they were making some shots after that. Maybe we were a little shaky because it was senior night.”
The Redwings led 36-24 at halftime behind Emily Schramek, who hit 15 of her 22 points, mostly from the outside. And then they increased the lead to 53-38 at the end of three and everything looked rosy.
Except in the final period Hinsdale South’s Toni Romiti caught fire and center Kerry Just dominated the boards as the Hornets comeback made it uncomfortable for Benet down the stretch.
The Hornets (17-8), who saw their 10-game winning streak snapped, cut the lead to three points three times in the final four minutes as Romiti hit for 13 points in that period, including two of her four three-pointers on the night.
The Redwings (19-9) led 61-58 with 2:40 remaining and then converted seven free throws at the end to build the final margin.
“We didn’t play the kind of defense tonight that we wanted to play,” said Benet coach Peter Paul. “We gave them too many open looks. We would have liked to have had an easier time, but we’ve been in close games all the way through. We weren’t playing as well as we could have at the end and we almost gave the game away.”
Emily Eshoo added 11 points for the Redwings.
Kristin Dimitrijevic finished with 18 points for the Hornets.
“They beat us in the second quarter,” said Hinsdale South coach Jen Belmonte. “We got tired and they hit everything in transition. They’re good shooters. This was a good game for us going into the playoffs.”
Earlier this season, the Hornets trailed Downers Grove North by 15 and made a dramatic comeback to win.
“We like to make it interesting,” said Belmonte. “If we don’t dig ourselves a hole we don’t have to do that.”
