It’s an IHSA sectional semifinal at Oswego High School as four-seed Benet Academy girls basketball takes on one-seed Bolingbrook. The Redwings look to take another step closer to getting back to state after defeating the Neuqua Valley Wildcats 47-44 in the regional finals and enter tonight’s game on a six-game winning streak. The Raiders cruised past Naperville North 60-31 last week in their regional final and have three wins in a row. The winner plays Waubonsie Valley in the sectional championship. This highlight is sponsored by BMO.
Benet Girls basketball uses three-point shooting to lead over Bolingbrook
Redwings up 2-1, Maggie Sularski dishes it to Lindsay Harzich, who spins away from one defender before burying the three from downtown. Redwings go up 5-1 early in the first quarter.
Bolingbrook inbounds the ball to Angelina Smith, who avoids the defense and feeds it to Persais (per-say-is) Williams. She misses the first time but pounces on the rebound to get the layup for two. We’re all tied at five.
Shannon Earley gets the rebound for the Redwings and finds Bridget Rifenburg. She buries the triple, and they take a 10-9 lead to close out the first quarter.
Trinity Jones and Bolingbrook take a two-point lead into the half
Maggie Sularski inbounds the ball and throws a beautiful half-court pass to Emma Briggs. She takes it to the basket for two. Redwings up 12-10.
Redwings look to extend their lead here as Maggie Sularski dishes it out to Emilia Sularski, who drains the triple to go up 19-14 with under three minutes to go in the second.
The top-seeded Bolingbrook have cut Benet’s lead to one. Trinity Jones feeds it to Smith, who swings it back to Jones, and she buries the trey. Raiders are back in front 25-24.
Aria Mazza finds Emilia Sularski, who misses the three-ball. Yahaira Bueno gets the rebound and dishes it to Smith, who has a wide-open lane and hits the layup as time expires. The Raiders take a 27-24 lead at halftime.
The Redwings look to get their offense back on track. Maggie Sularski feeds it to Rifenburg who takes it in for two.
Maggie Sularski takes on Jones, but she kicks it out to Harzich who hits the triple. The Redwings are looking to advance to a ninth straight sectional final, but are down 40-38 as they head into the fourth quarter.
Benet girls basketball upsets Bolingbrook and moves on to Sectional Final
Ava Mersinger decides to take this herself and stays composed for the Layup. Benet’s up 50-48 with under three minutes to go.
The Raiders are down by five with a minute to go, but Bueno hits a nice mid-range Jumper here to make it 53-50. Bolingbrook calls timeout.
After the Raiders forced a jump ball to retake possession, Williams inbounds it to Jones, and she hits the reverse layup. Just like that, they’re now down by one!
The Raiders foul and send Aria Mazza to the line. She comes up clutch, hitting both free throws to keep Benet ahead 55-52 with under 10 left.
Last chance for the Raiders to send this IHSA Classic into overtime. Jones inbounds to Smith but watch the team defense from Benet. Bueno goes for a long-contested three, but it’s no good! Benet girls basketball upsets Bolingbrook, 55-52. They’ve now made a Sectional Final in all nine seasons under Head Coach Joe Kilbride. They will play in the Sectional Championship against Waubonsie Valley on Thursday.
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