Prasse sisters, Benet roll past Plainfield East

Sidney Prasse says she doesn’t compare statistics with teammate Christen Prasse.

It sure looked like the sisters were trying to one-up each other Thursday night.

Junior Christen Prasse scored a game-high 22 points, sister Sidney Prasse added 20, and the Benet girls basketball team cruised to a 62-37 win over Plainfield East in the final of the Class 4A Lockport regional. The guard duo combined to hit eight 3-pointers, outscoring the Bengals 31-21 in the first half and 42-37 overall.

“We’re different players,” Sidney Prasse said. “She’s more of a driver and a kicker, I’m more of a shooter. We just play off of each other’s strengths.”

That was evident from the opening tip.

Sidney Prasse splashed an early 3-pointer — the first of her five — and Christen Prasse added a pair of layups on tough post moves as Benet got off to an 11-2 start. Junior Gabriel Williams tried to keep Plainfield East in the game with 8 first-quarter points on an array of post moves, but the Bengals struggled on the boards and couldn’t lock down Benet’s shooters.

Christen Prasse made it 17-4 with a 3-pointer at the 2:30 mark, and Sidney Prasse offset a string of Williams layups with another 3-pointer to give Benet a 20-8 lead at the end of the opening quarter.

“In the locker room we were just saying that we have to get off to a good start,” Christen Prasse said. “When we get off to a good start, good things happen. Today, that definitely happened.”

The good feelings carried over to the second quarter as Sidney Prasse scored 8 points — including a pair of bombs from well beyond the 3-point line — and Christen Prasse added 7.

“They’re the dominant force,” Benet coach Peter Paul said. “They’re going to take the majority of the shots. But to the credit of the others, they know where their bread is buttered.

“As long as we run the offense … we’re a tough team to beat.”

Benet (24-6) led 37-21 at the intermission, rarely allowing the lead to dip below 20 the rest of the way. Senior forward Nicole Valentine chipped in 8 points for the Redwings.

Williams led Plainfield East with 18 points and was the Bengals’ only consistent scorer. Freshman guard Faith Suggs added 10 — including a pair of dazzling spin moves for layups early in the third quarter — but was frustrated early with three turnovers on Plainfield East’s first four possessions.

The Bengals ended the season at 20-7.

“We were a little bit flat,” Plainfield East coach Missy Mitidiero said. “In the first half they just outhustled us.

“They run off screens, they feed each other the ball very unselfishly. It’s a good team.”

Benet (24-6) will play Waubonsie Valley — which beat Oswego East 50-29 Thursday — in Naperville at 8:10 p.m. Tuesday. The Redwings and the Warriors met Jan. 16, with Benet earning a 56-37 victory. Benet also knocked Waubonsie Valley out of last year’s postseason tournament in the sectional semifinals.

“The road gets tougher every step along the way,” Paul said. “That will be a tough game for us again.”