Canulli, Benet play the role of winner
When it comes to starting, Danielle Canulli says she does not have a preference.
"I just love playing," said the 5-foot-7 sophomore guard for Benet's girls basketball team. "As long as I get to play, it's fine with me."
Everything went fine for Benet on Saturday at St. Viator's Cahill Gymnasium, especially in the final 11 minutes.
That's when the Redwings held the Lions to just one 3-pointer by Bridget Urbanas and a free throw by Megan McGrath as Benet won the East Suburban Catholic Conference game 42-29.
Canulli came off the bench to score 13 points, including a big layup and 2 free throws in the final 1:44 which helped seal the win.
Susan Hohenadel's driving layup brought Viator (17-9, 6-4) to within 27-25 with three minutes left in the third quarter.
But the Redwings (16-9, 7-2) finished the game on a 15-4 run, including a 3-pointer from Annie Gallagher (9 points), a layup by Jess Pavlinec off a steal by Gallagher, and layups by Nicki Bell (6 points) and Ashley Veselik.
"We really wanted to win this game so we could get third place (in the ESCC)," Canulli added. "We knew they would come out hard on us.
"They applied a lot of pressure but we played real well on offense and set a lot of good screens."
Veteran Redwings coach Peter Paul liked how his team controlled game once it got the lead.
"I thought we sat on the lead very nicely," said the 24-year coach, who has won more than 500 games. "And I thought we handled their pressure well. We played smart down the stretch."
The Lions sped to an 8-2 lead, getting back-to-back 3-pointers from Jamie Blenner and Mary Calov.
But Benet fought back and took the lead for good on an 18-footer by Nikki Bell from behind the free throw line with 2:20 left in the first half.
"Defensively, we played well," Paul said. "We knew they were a good scoring team. I saw they had 17 points in the first quarter against Fenwick.
"And I can't say enough about our bench today. Mary Schuessler Katie Ernsting and Danielle Canulli gave us quality minutes."
Canulli had a career-high 16 points against York earlier this season.
" She is a very good shooter for a sophomore," Paul said. "I've been happy with her progress and she should be an excellent player for us down the road."
The Lions were led by Calov's 7 points and 5 apiece for Hohenadel and Ronnie Mack.
"We had some good looks at the end but we didn't knock them down," said Lions coach Paul Bjerkness. "Benet is an excellent-coached team. They play well. I thought we did a good job to keep the game low-scoring. But we didn't shoot the ball well."