The names change for Benet, but the result stays the same.
So it was again Thursday, when freshman guard Ava Mersinger and sophomore center Emma Briggs stepped up during the Class 4A Neuqua Valley Regional final against the host Wildcats.
“It was definitely nerve-wracking, but it was fun,” Mersinger said. “The other team is really good, so we knew we needed to bring it, and we did. We stayed solid the whole time.”
In a game in which neither team led by more than five points, Briggs and Mersinger delivered under pressure.
Briggs scored six of her career-high 16 points in the fourth quarter and Mersinger came off the bench to add six points and two crucial assists to lift fourth-seeded Benet to a 47-44 victory against fifth-seeded Neuqua Valley.
It was the 10th consecutive regional championship for the Redwings (23-6), who advance to play top-seeded Bolingbrook (26-3) in the Oswego Sectional semifinals at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
“I told the kids, ‘To make a run in the tournament, it takes all of us,’” Benet coach Joe Kilbride said. “Different nights, it’s different people.
“We’ve got other kids that will probably have a great game on Tuesday, so you’ve got to figure out which pieces have got it rolling.”
Benet trailed by as many as five and was down 38-34 in the fourth quarter before getting it rolling. Mersinger scored on a baseline drive with 6:43 left to spark a 9-0 run.
Hillsdale-bound senior guard Emilia Sularski followed with a steal and a 3-pointer to give the Redwings a 39-38 lead.
“We got in foul trouble, so I got out of the press,” Kilbride said. “So with 6 to go, we went back to pressing and trapping a little bit, and we were able to get some turnovers and transition going.
“Emilia made that one big three when they went zone, and that gave us a little bit of a cushion. It felt that those two minutes kind of just changed the mojo of the game. It felt to me like it was a different vibe after that.”
Mersinger felt it too.
“After Emilia’s three, I felt like our energy got boosted,” she said. “I felt like we just played together off of that, and we just kept going.”
Briggs scored on the next three possessions for Benet, starting with a turnaround jumper near the lane. After Neuqua Valley (19-11) turned it over, Mersinger started to drive the lane but stopped and sent a bounce pass to Briggs for a layup to make it 43-38.
“That is the ideal play,” Briggs said. “I saw her drive and pull some defenders. If she’s open, she takes it. But it was perfect, ideal for our situation.”
Mersinger had scored both of her baskets on great drives through the defense but was thinking pass all the way this time.
“I was looking for Emma because I knew they were going to pack the paint,” Mersinger said. “If I draw one, my next pass was going to be there, so I was looking for her.”
After senior guard Zoe Navarro scored on a drive for Neuqua Valley, Mersinger again brought the ball up. This time she passed to Briggs at the foul line. Briggs turned around and hesitated before swishing the jumper with 2:27 left.
“I was actually looking to drive,” Briggs said. “I’m more of a driver, obviously, but I can shoot the midrange. It was open. They didn’t want to pressure me, so I shot it.”
The pressure, though, wasn’t off the Redwings. Navarro, who scored 12 of her team-high 14 points in the second half, converted a 4-point play to pull the Wildcats within 45-44 and then made a steal to give her team a chance to win.
But Neuqua Valley turned it over with 12.8 seconds remaining. Benet junior guard Aria Mazza sank two free throws with 8.8 ticks left, and the Wildcats missed a 3-point shot at the buzzer.
“(The Wildcats) didn’t quit, and they kept playing hard,” Neuqua Valley coach Mike Williams said. “We had our chance. You feel bad about losing, but it was a great high school game, a great atmosphere and a good time.”
Briggs made sure Benet had the better time.
“It was amazing,” she said. “We obviously didn’t want this to be our last one. We knew it wouldn’t be, so it was great to be able to provide that for my team.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
