Benet edges St. Joseph on Senior Night

It was a physical, nip-and-tuck Senior Night for Benet against St. Joseph on Thursday night in Lisle.

In a game in which they were severely undersized, the Redwings showed the moxie of a back-to-back regional champion, pulling out a 52-48 victory to stretch their winning streak to 15 games.

Benet (19-4) came out a bit jittery, trailing St. Joseph throughout most of the first quarter. However, a 5-0 run to finish the quarter gave the Redwings a 10-8 lead.

“Senior Night is always different, there’s a lot of hoopla surrounding the game and there is a bigger crowd, and the girls want to come out and make 6 points on one shot,” Benet coach Peter Paul said.

The Chargers were led by forward Donna Koerber, whose 10 first-half points kept St. Joseph close. However, in the last minute of the half Koerber went down awkwardly on her ankle and did not return.

The scrappy play continued into the second half, with another Charger leaving the game due to injury, while two other Chargers fouled out.

The Redwings perimeter game went dry in the third quarter, but Benet stayed close due to the dogged work on the glass by seniors Nicole and Taylor Valentine. The 5-foot-8 twins combined for 11 third-quarter rebounds, and both finished with double-digit rebounds on the evening, staking the Redwings to a 6-point lead after three quarters.

“Taylor and I, even though we are not as tall as most of the other girls, we box out and work really hard to get the rebounds,” Nicole Valentine said. “We have a lot of good shooters, so it’s our job to play defense and get the ball. Defense brings offense.”

Nicole finished with a double-double, tallying 11 points and 12 rebounds, while Taylor finished with 8 points and 11 rebounds.

“They are so important to our team, they are literally the glue to our team,” senior co-captain Sidney Prasse said. “We are a short team, and they are shorter than me, yet they are getting the rebounds and banging around down low.”

Despite the twins’ exploits, Benet could not pull away from the pesky Chargers. The Redwings watched a 10-point lead evaporate into a 1-point lead with just 12 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

However, the steadying hand of Sidney Prasse iced the game away with 4 free throws and 2 steals in the final 12 seconds. Sidney Prasse finished with a game-high 22 points.

“We kept our composure, and that’s what senior leaders and supposed to do,” Sidney Prasse said. “We kept the lead and built on it.”

“We can always count on Sidney to hit the free throws and get the key steal,” Paul said. “She played smart down the stretch, and the Valentines are here defensively and rebounding day in, day out. It was a very physical game, but we held our own, and I was very proud of us.”