Hinsdale Central defense denies Redwings

When you're struggling offensively, the last thing you want to do is face Hinsdale Central's man-to-man defense.

That's the unenviable position Benet found itself in Thursday.

Unbeaten Hinsdale Central wound up putting a defensive clampdown on the host Redwings, beating them 46-24 in nonconference girls basketball action in Lisle.

"Offensively, we're really searching and struggling," Benet coach Peter Paul said. "When you only score 4 points in the first quarter, 8 in the half, you can play as much defense as you want, but eventually you got to put the ball in the basket."

Not only did the Red Devils (7-0) limit Benet (3-4) to single digits in each of the first three quarters, they kept the Redwings in single digits for the game until 3:48 remained in the third quarter.

"I think we're a little ahead of what I would consider where we should be in November defensively, which is a good thing," Hinsdale Central coach Steve Gross said.

Sophomore point guard Toni Kokenis led the Red Devils with 13 points, 3 assists and 2 steals.

"She's our best player," Gross said. "That's not a secret. I don't think if you wrote that in the paper one of her teammates is going to read that and go, 'Oh, no.' They look to her."

Kokenis scored 6 of her points during an early 11-0 run, which gave the Red Devils an 18-4 lead.

Just about everything went the visitors' way in the first half. In the final seconds of the second quarter, a rebound squirted out to Anne Mullen, who drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer to send Hinsdale Central into intermission with a 25-8 advantage.

The Red Devils took a 34-10 cushion into the final quarter. They held the home team without a field goal for an 11-minute stretch in the middle of the contest.

"I think we're playing pretty well for the beginning of the season," Kokenis said. "Our defense is pretty good right now. We have a lot to improve on, but it's a good start."

Senior center Molly Kinsella posted 9 points and 6 rebounds for the winners.

Hinsdale Central made 14 of 21 free throws, while Benet went 5 for 13.

"We did a good job of being strong with the ball and getting to the foul line," Gross said.

Annie Gallagher's 7 points off the bench topped Benet.