Benet comes back to take third place from Hersey
Benet looked like a team that just had its heart broken 24 hours earlier when it took the court Wednesday against Hersey in the third-place game at the Montini Christmas Tournament.
“The kids were emotionally beat up last night,” said Benet coach Joe Kilbride, whose team lost to Whitney Young in the semifinals on a pair of NBA-range 3-pointers by Kiara Lewis in the final 18 seconds. “It's a hard thing to come back the next day and it showed tonight. That first quarter was pretty ugly.”
Kilbride yanked his starters about five minutes into the game after Hersey grabbed a 7-2 lead.
“We weren't playing too hot,” Benet senior guard Elise Stout said. “So the coach had us take a seat and let the other people do their thing, hopefully get some baskets and let the rest of us get our minds back in the game.”
Benet (13-2) bounced back from a 12-6 deficit after eight minutes and a 22-15 hole in the second quarter to defeat the Huskies 53-46.
“I knew it was going to be hard,” Kilbride said. “We're an energy-effort team, and when you're having a hard time picking yourself up it's a little more of a grind.”
Hersey (12-3) had Benet on its heels for the better part of two-and-a-half quarters before Stout gave the Redwings their first lead at 30-29 with 4:19 remaining in the third quarter. Hersey answered by taking a 46-42 lead on a basket by Maggie Berigan with a little less than four minutes left in the game.
That's when the wheels came off for Hersey. Benet closed the contest on an 11-0 run.
“It was a combination of a few turnovers, probably more missed shots, and a couple calls that certainly could have gone either way, but they all seemed to go their way,” Hersey coach Mary Fendley said. “That being said, we also had shots within that stretch, but we couldn't find anyone who could hit a bucket.
“We're usually pretty consistent with our offense and get pretty good shots. We just missed out on some opportunities. But it's a great tournament and we're thrilled to get to the final four of the best tournament around. I wish we could've gotten this one today.”
Stout's 3-pointer with 2:45 remaining, Benet's only basket from outside the arc in 12 attempts, gave the Redwings the lead for good at 48-46.
“Everyone always tells me you have to shoot it to make it,” Stout said. “If we keep missing, we just have to keep shooting, get the rebound and kick it back out. I was open, so I just threw it up.”
Katherine Jaseckas led Benet with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Stout had 12 points and Kathleen Doyle added 10. Junior Claire Gritt paced Hersey with 19 points and Kelly Weyhrich added 10.