Benet Academy refused to wilt Wednesday.
The No. 11 Redwings (13-2) held off a fourth-quarter Glenbard West rally to beat the No. 6 Hilltoppers 53-46 and win the Naperville North/Benet Academy girls tournament title.
A fast Redwings start set the tone and put the Hilltoppers (15-3) in a hole they could not escape.
“We came out with a lot of intensity,” said Redwings guard Vanessa Lichon (15 points). “And our defense was great. We really stepped up and played defense–all five people.”
One key was limiting the effectiveness of Glenbard West guards Kristi Faulkner and Jessica Wilhite.
“We knew Kristi and Jessie were going to be gunning and we knew we had to shut them down,” Lichon said.
Faulkner, who scored 34 points Tuesday and earned tournament most valuable player honors, had a game-high 21 points Wednesday, but Wilhite was held to three.
Benet’s strong inside play also was critical. Freshman center Jordan Wilson (10 points), guard Mary Ellen Schaefer (15 points), forward Natalie Desmaretz and Lichon contributed as the Redwings grabbed a 19-11 lead by the end of the first quarter and extended it to 33-22 by halftime.
“They did what they had to do driving in to the basket, looking inside to their post players,” Hilltoppers coach Jim Pecilunas said.
Benet, which led 40-29 with 2:13 left in the third quarter, had its offense sputter soon after. Faulkner scored six points and added an assist as Glenbard West pulled to within two points at 42-40 with 5:56 to play.
But that’s as close as the Hilltoppers would get as Schaefer ignited an 8-2 Benet run with a layup with 3:03 to play. Two minutes later Desmaretz hit two free throws to give her team a 50-42 lead that put the game away.
In the third-place game, Wheaton Warrenville South held off Joliet 66-65 as three Tigers scored in double figures. Charliss Ridley led the way with 23 points, Michelle Varland had 18 and Sara Baumgartner added 10 for South (8-7).
“I think that they were concentrating on Charliss,” Varland said. “Once they collapsed on Charliss, we needed other people to step up and help out the team.”
Heather Ignacek had 18 for the Steelwomen (11-7) while teammates Tiffany Cornelius and Brandi Beamer had 16 apiece.
