When Sydney Stephens is sinking 3-pointers, it is a good sign for Benet.
When she’s in the game in the first half, it means the other team is doomed.
Stephens, a little-used senior guard, scored a career-high eight points — including a three-pointer in the second quarter — as the host Redwings routed Metea Valley 65-21 Friday on the opening night of the Naperville Central Tip-Off Tournament.
Kathleen Doyle had 16 points, six steals and four assists and Elise Stout added 12 points for Benet (2-0), which scored the first 21 points and led 36-1 before Tyrani White made the first basket for Metea (0-2) with 3:32 left in the second quarter.
The hot start allowed all 14 Redwings to see action in the first half.
“Because the kids work so hard, it’s nice to be able to reward them with some playing time, which you can’t always do,” Benet coach Joe Kilbride said. “Obviously, our pressure gave (the Mustangs) some difficulty early on and we got a pretty good cushion and rode it from there.”
Defending Class 4A state champion Benet forced 34 turnovers, including 12 in the first quarter. Eight players had at least one steal, with freshman Lauren Stack getting four and Stout, Katie Jaseckas, Kendal Schramek and Emma Lynn two apiece.
“I think our full-court worked really well,” Stout said. “We did a lot of trapping and getting steals and easy layups, so that was definitely a big factor.”
The bench was a big factor, even after Kilbride took off the press with three minutes left in the first quarter.
The Redwings didn’t miss a beat as Stack had six points and Lynn five. Then there was Stephens, who shot 3-for-4 and had three rebounds.
“Considering I had eight points this game, I think that’s almost more than I had the whole season last year, so it was pretty exciting,” Stephens said. “Last year, of course, I didn’t get as much time as I wanted.
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“It’s really cool to be able to get in the game when I want to, and I’m excited that everyone had a chance to get in (Friday) and play.”
While Doyle, Stout and Jaseckas will carry the heaviest load this season, the Redwings may be deeper than people think.
“I know we can always count on the other girls on the team to be tough defensively and offensively,” Stout said. “We’re confident that they’re going to get the job done even when we’re out.”
A third-stringer like Stephens may not get a lot of playing time, but her performance Friday reflects her practice ethic.
“That’s awesome. Syd works so hard in practice,” Stout said. “She’s one of the hardest-working people I know. She’s always putting in extra effort. It really showed tonight and I think it can all season.”
Freshman Ashley Konkle had nine points and seven rebounds and Janiece Thomas added five points and five boards for Metea, which has just one senior starter and has yet to find reliable guard play.
“We’ve got to have someone that is going to understand the pressure, understand what defense is being set up and communicate that to everybody else,” Metea Valley coach Cedric Williams said. “We came out not ready to play. I don’t care who it is; be ready to play, let the cards fall where they fall and say we gave our best effort. (Friday) we didn’t give our best effort.”
Le Cren is a freelance writer for the Naperville Sun.