Benet ends tough week with win
After playing two of the best teams in the state earlier in the week, Benet was ready to beat up on somebody its own size.
The Redwings took out their frustration on St. Francis on Saturday night at Benedictine University, beating their archrival 64-51 in a nonconference showdown.
"The first two games this week it was brutal," senior Nikki Bell said of playing Fenwick on Wednesday and Whitney Young on Thursday. "But then coming out and playing a team that was similar to us and being able to beat them feels really good."
"It's a tough week," added Benet coach Peter Paul, who was honored between games of Saturday's doubleheader for earning his 500th win last month. "We're 17-11. We're really proud of that."
Benet felt good from start, going up 14-9 after one quarter. The lead hit double digits midway through the second quarter on a Bell free throw, and two minutes later a Bell floater gave the Redwings a 28-14 lead. The senior's buzzer-beater made it 37-22 going into halftime.
"It's a nice win for us," Paul said. "I thought we had a lot of composure. We came out and took care of business. We jumped on them a little bit and never really let them get too comfortable with the game."
"Defensively, they weren't getting back as much as they should have," St. Francis coach Leslie Fay-Dehn said of her players. "That's something we have to work on in the next couple of days. We missed a lot of layups throughout the entire game, a lot of bunny shots that just didn't go in for us. And we were standing way too much on offense."
The Benet lead peaked at 47-26 in the third quarter on a Brianne Riley layup.
"They just were really on shooting," St. Francis senior Jenny Eldridge said. "They just played a really good game. We still have some stuff to work on, but I think we'll be good for Wednesday at regionals."
It also helped that Benet took care of the ball. The Redwings committed only 3 turnovers through the first three quarters of the game before brining in their reserves for the fourth.
The loss was especially surprising to the Spartans (11-15) because they'd played so well lately. They had won four of their last five games before Saturday's matchup, all four on the road.
"We came in on a roll," Eldridge said. "It's hard to keep up that pace. But I know that we'll be good to go on Wednesday, so we're really looking forward to that game against St. Joe's."
Bell finished with a game-best 18 points. Ashley Veselik came off the bench to add 15 points, including 11 points 4 rebounds and a block in the second quarter when the Redwings pulled away.
"She's the beast on our team," Bell said. "She's all over the court, playing really hard. She's been playing really good lately."
Senior center Jamie Stefely led the Spartans with 16 points and 7 rebounds.
benet 64, st. Francis 51
St. Francis - Reinke 3 3-5 9, Morris 2 0-0 4, Bruggeman 0 2-2 2, Eldridge 4 0-0 8, Stefely 6 4-8 16, Slavin 0 0-0 0, Pisarski 0 2-2 2, Torres 1 0-0 3, Harig 0 0-0 0, Coyle 0 0-0 0, McShea 2 0-0 6, Kerr 0 0-0 0, Kaiser 0 1-2 1. Totals 18 12-19 51.
Benet - Riley 4 1-2 9, Gallagher 1 0-0 2, Doyle 4 0-0 10, Bell 8 2-4 18, Pavlinec 1 0-0 2, A. Veselik 7 1-1 15, Sankauskaite 1 0-0 2, Ernsting 0 0-0 0, Canulli 1 2-4 4, Krema 1 0-0 2, M.K. Veselik 0 0-0 0. Totals 28 6-11 64.
St. Francis 9 13 8 21 -51
Benet 14 23 13 14 -64
3-point baskets: SF: McShea 2, Torres. B: Doyle 2. Fouled out: None.