Benet victory isn't pretty

It was no oil painting.

"It wasn't the most artistic game," Benet coach Peter Paul said of his squad's 47-40 win over Lockport, in Tuesday's opening game of Hinsdale South's Class 4A regional.

Good teams can pull off ugly wins, and No. 5 Benet struggled but won over the No. 12 Porters, setting up a regional title game on Thursday against No. 4 Batavia.

"I thought a couple times we had a good lead, and then Lockport would hit a couple big shots or get a big rebound," Paul said. "And we helped them a little with some turnovers."

"(Batavia) can shoot the ball, they're fast, and they've got (Natalie) Tarter, who scored a thousand points," Benet's Annie Doyle said. "We'll definitely have to take care of the ball better against them. When we didn't turn the ball over tonight, we got a good shot."

Benet (18-11) ultimately rode on the shoulders of Doyle, Nikki Bell, and a handful of other Redwings, to stave off a Lockport (8-16) team that had an upset on its mind.

"I'm very proud of the effort they displayed," Lockport coach Krista Peterson said of her girls. "We didn't take advantage of a couple opportunities, and Benet played well when they had to tonight."

Benet led 16-10 after a quarter before a turnover-plagued second quarter ensued. The Redwings led 23-18 at halftime, and 33-26 after three quarters.

Benet took a 37-26 lead on a Danielle Canulli basket to start the fourth quarter, the Porters answered with a 3-pointer, and Doyle hit a jumper in the lane to put Benet back up by ten.

Lockport forced a pair of steals for two easy baskets, and the pattern of the final quarter was set.

"Credit Lockport. They never just rolled over and died, which made it tougher on us," Doyle said. "They kept coming back and they played hard."

Doyle led all scorers with 17 points, and Bell had 14 points and 9 rebounds for Benet. Lockport's Ashley Shelby hit a late 3 to make it a 5-point game before Doyle knocked down two free throws for Benet's final victory margin.