Bolingbrook's defense too much for Benet

Benet girls basketball coach Peter Paul felt that if his team could keep Bolingbrook from scoring more than 50 points on Monday night, the Redwings would have a chance to win.

While Benet held the offensively prolific Raiders to just 48 points, its offense struggled and sputtered all night, and the Redwings eventually lost a 48-30 decision in a Class 4A Waubonsie Valley sectional semifinal.

"We wanted the game to go in the 40s, because I thought we had a chance to win if it got in the 40s," Paul said. "If it got higher than that, then our chances looked dimmer.

"We held them, but we just didn't do enough on the offensive end."

Early on Benet (19-12) looked as if it might pull off a shocker in Aurora, jumping out to a quick 7-0 lead within the first three minutes of the game. After junior Brianne Riley's 3-pointer gave the underdogs a 7-point advantage, though, Benet failed to score another point across the next 11 minutes - during which time Bolingbrook built a 13-7 lead it would never relinquish.

"That's what hurt us. We were stuck on seven for quite a while," Paul said. "If we had made some shots, it would have made it a little bit closer, and I think it would've gave us a little bit more confidence."

The Redwings cut Bolingbrook's lead to 24-18 early in the third quarter, but that would be as close as Benet would get the rest of the way. Paul made tough defense a part of Benet's game plan but admitted there's no easy way to dethrone the defending 4A runner-up.

"We gave it a battle, and we battled as hard as we possibly could. I can't be more proud of our kids," Paul said. "They're a very talented team, and any mistake we made they would capitalize on.

"We tried, but I don't know if there's a perfect strategy to beat them."

Despite falling short of the sectional championship round, Benet's players felt they shared a special season together.

"It was just a lot better than anybody expected us to do," an emotional Jess Pavlinec said. "It was just so much fun."

Bolingbrook (21-4) coach Tony Smith believes every championship team faces some adversity in the playoffs and hopes his team overcame its share Monday.

"It still wasn't as good as it should've been, but we'll take it," Smith said. "Hopefully, we've got enough adversity and got it out of the way."