Bridget Rifenburg overcomes foul trouble, finishes Benet’s win over Lyons in Montini Tournament semifinals

LOMBARD – For the second time this season, Benet junior Bridget Rifenburg found herself in foul trouble while playing against Lyons Township.

This time she found a way to overcome it.

Despite playing the entire fourth quarter with four fouls, Rifenburg scored seven of her 12 points in the final four minutes to help lift Benet to a 71-58 win over previously unbeaten Lyons at the Montini Christmas Tournament semifinals on Friday night.

The Redwings (13-1) avenged their season-opening 77-67 loss to the Lions (14-1) while extending their winning streak to 13 games. They will play Fremd in the championship game at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

“She had foul trouble the first time we played them,” Benet coach Joe Kilbride said. “She had foul trouble again today. We all did, frankly.

“I thought she did a good job of sticking with it, being solid, finding a way. That’s all it was.”

There was a good reason for all the foul trouble. Rifenburg and junior center Emma Briggs, who also had four fouls, were charged with trying to limit Lyons star Nora Ezike, the Stanford-bound post player who had dropped a school-record 40 points on Prospect in the quarterfinals.

Both got three fouls in the first half guarding Ezike, who scored her 1,000th career point in the first quarter and finished with a game-high 23 points, six rebounds and three steals. Yet the Redwings led 34-26 at the break.

Lyons coach Meghan Hutchens was not surprised.

“I didn’t expect that we were going to come in and win as under control as we did the first game,” Hutchens said. “They play with a lot of grit and in the first half they stopped us from getting O-boards and we had a few too many turnovers.

“We pushed tempo really well the first time and then they stopped our tempo in the full-court today. This time we struggled a little bit more with their press.”

Even so, the Lions rallied behind the trio of Ezike, forward Emma O’Brien and guard Gwen Smith, who combined for 52 points.

Smith had nine of her 18 points in the third quarter, including a basket that tied the game at 44 at the 2:32 mark.

But Benet struck right back as sophomore point guard Ava Mersinger went coast-to-coast for a layup, reserve Audrey Panoushis split a pair of free throws and senior guard Aria Mazza sank a turn-around jumper. The Lions kept it close but never caught up.

“We didn’t let up at the end,” Rifenburg said. “The first game it was really close and we kind of gave up at the end.

“I think this game, even though it was close during the third quarter, we stuck with it and we knew that we were going to be able to come out with that win.”

Rifenburg had a big hand in that. With the Redwings ahead 58-53, Rifenburg drove around Ezike for a tough finish at the 4:02 mark of the fourth quarter.

Later, Rifenburg took an entry pass from Briggs and muscled up a shot over Ezike despite getting knocked down. She then made the ensuing free throw for a 65-54 lead with 2:27 left.

“(Ezike) was really dominating on the offensive end and drawing fouls on us, so I wanted to get in there and draw a foul on her on the other end,” Rifenburg said. “That was my big motivation there.”

Ezike responded with an inside basket, but once again Rifenburg had an answer. This time it was Mazza with the nifty assist on a Rifenburg basket at the 1:53 mark.

“In the time I was dominating, I was getting dimes dropped to me by Emma or Lindsay (Harzich) or whoever it was,” Rifenburg said. “So I think that just knowing that I have to drive those last couple of minutes and close this win was a big part of it.”

Harzich scored 16 points to lead Benet, which also got 15 points and four assists from Mazza, eight points from Briggs and Sailor Jones and six points and three assists from Mersinger. Rifenburg added a team-high nine rebounds.

O’Brien had 11 points, a game-high 13 boards and three assists for the Lions.

“We had a great start to the third quarter, but we had too many mistakes on defense, just not knowing who we had, and it showed,” Hutchens said. “They capitalized on those opportunities.

“There are some things we need to clean up and get better at. That’s going to make us better in the long run.”