Benet’s Brooke Schramek stood on the court dribbling out the clock, a satisfied look on her face.
It was a moment nine months in the making.
The Wisconsin-bound Schramek and DePaul signee Kendall Holmes combined to sink six 3-pointers Sunday, leading the Redwings to a 56-42 victory over Mother McAuley at the ESCC/GCAC Challenge at Nazareth.
Benet (9-0) avenged two losses last season to McAuley, one of which came in the Class 4A state semifinals.
“They beat us at state and we all hated that feeling,” Schramek said. “We definitely don’t want that feeling again so we came in with energy.”
The 6-foot-1 Schramek and 5-11 Holmes are the only Redwings who started in the state loss, and both had huge performances.
Holmes, who was playing in front of her future college coach, Doug Bruno, led all players with 18 points and six rebounds. Schramek added 16 points, five rebounds and two blocked shots while playing with a controlled fury.
“Brooke was awesome,” Benet coach Joe Kilbride said. “It’s that fine line of being really aggressive but really patient and under control at the same time. I thought she walked that razor’s edge perfectly. She was right on it.”
Jenna Badali scored 17 points and Isabella Finnegan added 10 for the Mighty Macs (6-3), who were beaten 11-4 on the offensive boards.
“We gave up a lot of second-chance opportunities and that hurt us down the stretch,” McAuley coach Keisha Newell said. “Benet is a great team and it was a great battle.
“We want to be the best and we want to play the best, so we learn from it and get better.”
Schramek made two 3-pointers off passes from Holmes during an opening 15-5 burst.
McAuley clawed back behind the scrappy play of guards Badali and Alexis Mayer, who broke Benet’s press and helped the Mighty Macs pull within 25-24 at halftime.
That didn’t sit well with Schramek.
“At halftime as we were walking out, we noticed that they had a lot of energy and a lot of momentum,” Schramek said. “We were like, ‘We can’t let them think they have a chance.’
“We’re not letting (a loss) happen again. We’re Benet and we’re here to beat you.”
That’s exactly what the Redwings did. They outscored McAuley 19-8 in the third quarter as Holmes scored seven points, including a steal and layup, and Schramek added five points.
Sophomore center Morgan Demos’ putback of a missed 3-pointer by Holmes gave Benet a 44-32 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
“I feel like we played with a lot of heart,” Holmes said. “We came out really aggressive and we really played together.”
Did Bruno’s presence have anything to do with Holmes’ performance?
“We just have to play our game no matter what — who’s there, what the circumstances are,” Holmes said. “I was just hitting what was open.
“My teammates were really good at finding me and Brooke contributed really well. She made some big shots. We’ve got to take what they’re giving us and people were able to knock down the shots.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
