Benet celebrates girls basketball state title

Benet Academy's girls basketball team is a resilient bunch, known for its composure and mental toughness on the court.

But when you roll out a red carpet for players who won back-to-back state titles under a coach in only his second year at the Lisle school, well, expect to see those steely exteriors turn into some big smiles.

"We're just kind of riding a wave of euphoria right now," Benet coach Joe Kilbride said.

In front of "Redwings Nation," the girls got a loud introduction by the band's drum line and walked that red carpet with the Class 4A championship trophy during an all-school assembly Tuesday afternoon.

"I think the character of the young ladies behind me was on full display," Kilbride said of their championship run. "It was quite impressive. Often times I was observing it, and thinking to myself what an outstanding group of young ladies these are."

In a rematch from last year's title game, Benet beat top-ranked Fremd 42-39 on Saturday to take the title after a bit of a slow start.

After Fremd went on a 12-2 run in the third quarter, and "their folks went crazy," Kilbride called a timeout.

"Not to do anything other than to look them in the eye and see where were they at," Kilbride said. "And there wasn't a blink in the bunch. Not one of them was rattled by anything."

Senior standout Kathleen Doyle scored a game-high 24 points. The second victory, she said, was "a little bit sweeter," a fitting end to her high school career.

"Playing a tough schedule all year long we go through adversity throughout the season," she said. "In the state tournament, we know how to deal with it and we just get over the hump."

Doyle still can't remember the "blur" after the buzzer, but she's sure to take away the memories of a team with a special chemistry and a coach who "does a crazy amount of scouting and preparing us for each game."

"It's endless," she said. "Sometimes I even wonder if he even sleeps during the season."

The team's next turn in the spotlight is the Naperville St. Patrick's Day parade Saturday morning.

"This is a pretty special celebration for all of the student body at Benet," Doyle said.