Aria Mazza explodes for 25 first-half points, leads Benet to blowout of Libertyville at Coach Kipp Hoopsfest

LISLE – Benet guard Aria Mazza had no inkling of what was coming.

Her explosion came without warning.

“I go into every game thinking the same thing, just that I’m going to do my thing and we’ll play as a team,” Mazza said. “Today, the first shot went in and I just kept going from there. I felt in the zone.”

Mazza scored all of her game-high 25 points in the first half to lead the host Redwings to a stunningly lopsided 74-48 victory over Libertyville on Monday at the Coach Kipp Hoopsfest.

She sank her first five shots, including back-to-back 3-pointers to give Benet (20-1) a 6-2 lead, and finished 9 of 12. That included a 7-for-9 showing from beyond the arc.

“Mazza was just on fire today,” Benet coach Joe Kilbride said. “She couldn’t miss if you paid her, and the girls did a nice job of getting her the ball, both in transition and in the half court.”

Indeed, Mazza’s teammates made sure to keep feeding the beast. She had 14 points in the first quarter as the Redwings shot out to a 27-14 lead and added 11 more in the second as Benet extended their cushion to 49-26.

“If someone is shooting well, you always look for them,” Benet center Emma Briggs said. “Obviously, when she had four (3-pointers), we’re all like, ‘Oh, my God, get her the ball.’”

The Redwings did just that. Briggs, who had 11 points, dished a game-high four assists, with Mazza her main target, while Bridget Rifenburg added 11 points and five boards. Benet had 18 assists on 27 made baskets.

The best thing about Mazza’s shooting performance is that she was picking her spots.

“She is always hunting them, but she wasn’t forcing them,” Kilbride said. “She drove one time and took a 2 and I’m like, ‘What are you doing taking a 2. If I’m you right now, I don’t shoot anything inside the arc.’ She had it going, for sure.”

Did Briggs sense Mazza would have a huge game?

“You never know if someone is going to pop out like that,” Briggs said. “I think she made 7 threes and that’s actually insane.

“We all knew she was amazing. She’s a great player, but even though she had 25 points, she wasn’t selfish about. She was sharing the ball with everyone.”

Indeed, Mazza had five rebounds, two assists and two steals and did not attempt a shot in the second half. Kilbride cleared his bench early in the third quarter after Briggs sank a 3-pointer to make it 60-30.

“It was just amazing because when my shots go in, then (the defense) is tagging and then all of the other teammates are open more for the gaps,” Mazza said. “So we were playing as a unit.”

And playing exceedingly well. The Redwings made only two turnovers in the first half and nine for the game, while their full-court pressure defense forced Libertyville (17-5) into 22 turnovers.

“They found holes and found ways to get (Mazza) shots,” Libertyville coach Greg Pedersen said. “We responded better in the second half, obviously, but they had already done their damage.”

The Wildcats were playing without two starters due to illness, so Pedersen knew his team faced an uphill battle. Elinor Lindall and Madison Sears each scored 13 points to pace the Wildcats, with Sears adding a game-high eight rebounds.

“We’re going to have to be full strength to give them a serious run,” Pedersen said. “We knew that, so we just wanted to execute small things today to try and get ready for our upcoming conference schedule.

“I thought we rebounded better the second half, we scored better the second half. It just took a while for some of our players who don’t get as much playing time to get their footing in this game. But they’re a great team.”

One that has won 20 consecutive games.

“Each game we go into it with the same attitude - that we’re going to give our best and we’re not going to underestimate any team,” Mazza said. “I think it was really good for us to get this win.”