Redwings get rid of 1st-game jitters
It was a bad case of first-game jitters for the Benet girls basketball team Wednesday night, but fortunately for the Redwings those jitters only lasted one quarter.
In its season opener against St. Ignatius in Lisle, Benet (1-0) missed 15 of 16 shots in the first quarter and trailed the Wolfpack 7-4. But the hosts stuck with their tough defense throughout, and as the offense came around they had more than enough to knock off the Wolfpack 50-35 to open the new season on a high note.
Senior guard Katie Dunn, who led all scorers with 15 points, said it was just a matter of the Redwings keeping things under control.
"We came out and it was nerves and we were a little too excited," she said. "But we calmed down a bit. We got a little more patient on offense and we settled down more into our game."
Benet didn't exactly catch fire in the second quarter, but a 5-for-16 shooting effort was enough to outscore St. Ignatius 16-8 and take a 20-15 lead at the half. Kristin Stein led the attack with 7 points in the second quarter for Benet, but it was a team effort to slow down 6-foot Wolfpack center Eileen O'Donoghue, who had 6 points, 6 rebounds and 4 blocked shots before fouling out late in the contest.
"We really concentrate on defense," said Stein, who finished with 13 points, 7 boards and 2 steals. "If our shots aren't falling we can still count on defense."
Freshman Ashley Veselik had 6 points and 7 rebounds for Benet, sophomore Nicki Bell had 7 points and 2 steals, and Brianne Riley had 4 steals as the Redwings forced the Wolfpack into 27 turnovers in the game and limited the visitors to just 11 field goals on the night.
"I think it was first-game jitters for both teams," Benet coach Peter Paul said. "We're not real tall, but if we control the boards and get a chance to run, we'll be OK. This was a good game for us."
Benet led 31-25 after three quarters before extending the lead to double digits in the final quarter, thanks in large part to 15 points combined from Stein and Dunn and strong defensive rebounding that limited St. Ignatius' second chances.
"I thought we got a lot of good looks. We just didn't hit them," Wolfpack coach Tom McKenna said. "Once we got down by 10 I knew they would be hard to catch. They hit their free throws and they really got it going late."