It’s that time of year for girls’ basketball fans because the postseason is underway with the regional semifinals. Benet Academy takes the court in its own regional, holding the one-seed in the East Aurora sectional after a 24-4 regular season. They draw 16-seeded Plainfield East, who’s fresh off a quarterfinal win over East Aurora. This highlight is sponsored by BMO.
The Redwings get rolling early with Ava Mersinger finding Bridget Rifenburg, who misses on the first attempt but gets her own and finishes it on the second try.
Redwings take command in the first half
Macy Menendez’s shot goes off the rim, but Rifenburg steps up on defense with a steal down low and capitalizes on the turnover. The Redwings soar to an early 11-1 lead.
The Bengals need some scoring, and they get it via a nice left-handed lay-in by Gianna Thompson.
In the second quarter, Emma Briggs run out of the blue for the steal. The recent 1,000-point scorer sends it with a spin and gets the tear-drop to fall.
The Wings keep it going with Briggs finding Megan Sedillo, and she’s nothing but net. It’s a commanding 32-7 lead for Benet.
Hadley Engler dropping in buckets off the bench
Everyone is touching the ball on the Benet side as Hadley Engler is open on the wing and connects on the trifecta. The Redwings take a 38-9 lead into the locker room.
The gameplan remains the same in the third quarter as Menendez tallies up another three.
Benet Academy cruises to the regional final
Engler gets involved again in the scoring fiesta as she buries another three for the home team. The Redwings cruise to a 66-24 win over Plainfield East and will face Oswego East in the regional final.
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