Benet doesn't panic, knocks off Naperville North

Early in Friday night's Naperville North/Benet Holiday Tournament championship game, the host Huskies had defending Class 4A girls basketball champion Benet Redwings on their heels.

Then after sputtering slightly, the basketball engine that is Benet started firing on all cylinders and Naperville North came face to face with the pressure that the Redwings are capable of. The Huskies had no answers and Benet won the tournament title 65-39.

"They had a 10-2 lead. We were a little nervous. But once we started playing our game, we got back into the groove," said Benet senior Katherine Jaseckas, who earned all-tournament honors and scored a team-high 14 points.

After the Huskies (7-4) took that early 8-point advantage, the Redwings (11-1) proceeded to power up a 23-3 run that went into the second quarter. Benet led 36-20 at halftime.

Redwings coach Joe Kilbride stressed to his team before the game that Naperville North would be a challenge.

"(The Huskies) always play hard and you have to show up to play," he said. 'It was a good tournament. We're just trying to get better. We're trying to figure out the rotation and we've responded pretty well."

Elise Stout, who also scored a team-high 14 points and was named all-tournament, hit a layup with 5:37 left in the third to put her team up 42-21.

The Huskies responded with a 9-4 run with all of the points scored by Sophia Fumagalli and Naperville North pulled to within 16. Kathleen Doyle, who was named tournament MVP, hurled a 3-point shot well beyond the arc at the buzzer and the Redwings led 51-30 at the end of the period.

"It's a long game. If you don't get the offense going to a good start, it's important not to get rattled," said Doyle, who finished with 12 points.

Also named to the all-tournament squad for Benet was junior Kendal Schramek. Benet's next stop is the Montini Tournament that begins right after Christmas.

Laurel Pereira and Cece Pope were named to the all-tournament team for the Huskies. Pereira scored a game-high 17 points and Pope put through 7 points and 8 rebounds.

"Benet put a lot of pressure on us especially us guards. Their defense is really strong," Pereira said.

The Huskies resume action in the new year.

"Over the break we just want to stay fundamentally strong," Pereira said. "We have a bright future. We'll come out strong after the break."