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LA GRANGE PARK – Benet didn’t look like the top-ranked team in the state in the early going against Prospect on Saturday.
But the Redwings weren’t worried.
“Coach (Joe) Kilbride says it takes us three to four minutes sometimes to actually get warmed up and get our mojo,” Benet junior center Emma Briggs said. “I think you can never count us out of a game, even when we’re down 10, because we’re all a lot of 3-point shooters.”
Benet’s shooters were cold in the first quarter but red hot from there on out, and that was one reason why the Redwings rallied from a 10-point deficit to beat Prospect 58-40 at Coach Kipp’s Hoopsfest at Nazareth.
It was the 19th consecutive win for Benet (19-1), which started the game making 4 of 12 shots and then sank 21 of 40 the rest of the way. Prospect’s shooting accuracy was exactly the opposite – the Knights (17-5) started 10 of 17 and were 4 of 19 thereafter.
“I think first quarter we just weren’t making shots and basketball is a game of runs,” Benet senior guard Aria Mazza said. “So once we hit one (shot), it just (took off).”
Indeed, the Redwings trailed 18-8 early in the second half when Brown-bound senior guard Lindsay Harzich sank the first of Benet’s six 3-pointers.
Prospect star Alli Linke answered with a turnaround jumper, but Harzich scored on a pull-up and then a drive, triggering a 45-13 run that turned the tables so fast it made everyone’s head spin.
“Prospect is a very good team, well coached,” Kilbride said. “They shot it really well the first quarter and we couldn’t make a shot.
“I think we got it going a little bit, especially towards the last three minutes or so of the second quarter, and maybe the first four minutes of the third. Lindsay was carrying us until the middle of the second quarter.”
Harzich scored nine of her 15 points in the first half but she soon got plenty of help, including from Mazza and Briggs. Prospect led 27-20 when Mazza, who finished with a game-high 17 points, tallied seven consecutive points, including the game-tying 3 off an Ava Mersinger assist.
Reserve guard Ava Thomas followed with a 3-pointer off a feed from Sailor Jones with 17 seconds left in the half. That put Benet ahead to stay 30-27.
It was all part of a 19-0 run bridging intermission that gave the Redwings a 39-27 cushion midway through the third quarter. Mazza scored eight points in the third quarter, while Briggs had four of her 11 to increase the lead to 48-33.
“That’s the thing – we really are a multi-headed beast,” Kilbride said. “All of them can get you at different times. And I thought our bench did a nice job today to get the pressure going and get the tempo where we wanted it.”
That meant a fast tempo and it forced the Knights into 25 turnovers, 16 of which came in the second half.
“We knew they were going to bring a lot of pressure in the full court and we just had trouble in the second half dealing with that pressure,” Prospect coach Matt Weber said. “Good thing it’s January and we have time to continue to work on our weaknesses and get better.”
Linke had 16 points and six rebounds to pace Prospect, while Neve Pomis added nine points and Zoe Black had eight.
The 6-foot-1 Linke got a relatively low number of opportunities, at least by her standards, shooting 5 of 11. Briggs, who had 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting to go with six rebounds and three assists, was tasked with stopping Linke and also got help from Bridget Rifenburg and Keelyn Gallagher.
“Her ability to shut down Linke and hold her to minimal points was crucial for our success,” Mazza said of Briggs. “And then she was able to kick out and get her own shots, too, so it was really helpful for us.”