Benet doubles up Rolling Meadows
Ava Mersinger, the only freshman on the Benet roster, remembered the butterflies she felt in the first game of the season — the first of her prep career.
“It was a little nerve-wracking for sure,” she said. “But I have great teammates, who are always ready to pat you on the back and say, ‘You got this.’
“It’s a very encouraging team, and I love that they’re so sweet to me. They’re all good people and after practices and a couple of games, it felt like home.”
Now the Redwings have played 20 contests on the year, and it’s obvious that Mersinger has had no problem settling in.
The frosh used her skills Monday on the defensive end to create four steals and back-breaking coast-to-coast layups, leading her team to a 64-32 win over Rolling Meadows in the 34th edition of Coach Derril Kipp’s Hoopsfest.
It was an impressive victory considering both teams came in leading their respective conference.
Benet is first in the East Suburban Catholic Conference with a 6-1 mark, while Meadows boasts a 5-1 record in the Mid-Suburban East.
“I felt like our energy was a big thing today,” added Mersinger.
‘We knew we had to rebound, we knew we had to play together, and we did that.”
Six-foot-4 Rolling Meadows senior Roisin Grandberry dominated the rebounding battle Monday, finishing with 12 boards.
She also scored 10 points, and teammate Ciara McMahon added 9 on three 3-pointers, but other than that the Mustangs couldn’t keep pace with the Redwings.
“It’s about their (Benet’s) structure and pressure,” said Meadows coach Ryan Kirkorsky.
“They kind of wear you down, and if you’re not executing possession by possession, they can make some runs on you.”
The Redwings, playing on one of their home courts in the Alumni gym, opened up a 31-14 first half advantage.
They were paced by senior Emilia Sularski, who hit four 3-pointers and scored all of her game-high 14 points in the first two quarters.
“Rolling Meadows is a really good team,” said Sularski, “and they have some tall players like Roisin and her sister (Dalia Grandberry, who is also 6-4).
“I just feel like we came out strong and were hitting our shots.”
Next fall Emilia Sularski, along with her teammate and twin sister Magadalena Sularski, will enroll at Hillsdale College in Michigan to continue their hoops careers.
“We both love the family environment there,” said Emilia. “It’s a great school and we love the area.”
The Redwings (15-5) didn’t let up after halftime, outscoring the Mustangs 33-18 the rest of the way.
“We had a pretty big lead (at intermission),” said Sularski, “but we wanted to keep our cool and not get too excited. There was still one more half to go, and we needed to bring it.”
Plenty of bench players were able to get significant playing time in the fourth quarter, and Meadows (16-6) junior Claire Cox took advantage with a tough offensive rebound and 3-point play.
“We have a really strong roster,” said Kirkosky, “and those kids are competing hard in practice.
“You never know when you need those kids in a close game, so it’s good to give them some valuable minutes."
Emma Briggs scored 13 points for Benet, while Mersinger finished with 10 points and 5 steals.
The Redwings were active on defense as a unit with 13 takeaways.
“We practice how we play,” said Mersinger, ”and we’re a great hustle team.”