Benet’s Samantha Trimberger swears she was not missing shots on purpose in order to pad her rebounding stats.
The 6-foot junior forward missed her first three attempts Thursday night against Plainfield East and finished 1-for-8.
“I wish that was the answer, yes,” Trimberger said with a laugh. “But unfortunately, that was not the answer.”
Trimberger scored only two points but was a big part of the answer as the host Redwings beat the ninth-seeded Bengals 65-32 in the Class 4A Benet Regional championship game.
Benet (27-3) now has won regional titles in the last eight full seasons and 12 of the past 13 years. The top-seeded Redwings will play at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the East Aurora Sectional semifinals.
Trimberger had seven rebounds, all on the offensive end, to go with five steals and two assists in a typically understated yet crucial performance.
“Sam is one of those really important kids from the standpoint that she fits perfectly with our group,” Benet coach Joe Kilbride said. “I think it was Red Auerbach who said, ‘You don’t play the best five, you play the five that fit best together.’
“Sam fits perfectly with this group. She gives us length, she’s a great rebounder, she’s a really good playmaker and, honest to God, she’s a great finisher. She struggled a little bit, but she’s a great finisher.”
Trimberger got her first rebound — and first miss — on Benet’s first possession, which resulted in Navy-bound senior center Morgan Demos converting a putback.
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Trimberger grabbed two more offensive boards on the next possession, scoring off her own miss. Then she made a steal that led to Demos feeding sophomore guard Maggie Sularski for a 3-pointer.
Junior guard Lenee Beaumont then sank three straight 3-pointers as Benet scored the first 13 points en route to a 20-4 lead.
“Rebounding is something I always try to fall back on, and obviously, the shots weren’t falling for me,” Trimberger said. “I think if I can get my own rebound and pass it off to somebody else or try to go up again, that’s helping the whole team.
“That’s something I can do and control.”
The Redwings controlled the boards throughout against the Bengals (14-14), who often went long stretches without the ball.
Benet attempted 44 shots in the first half to 16 for Plainfield East, while outrebounding the Bengals 29-10, including 17-2 on the offensive end.
The combination of Trimberger and Demos, who finished with 14 points, nine rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots, eliminated any hope for the Bengals.
Plainfield East upset seventh-seeded Neuqua Valley in the semifinals.
“Our rebounding was elite,” Kilbride said. “Part of it was not making a couple of those shots, but I thought we were good.”
Trimberger averages eight rebounds, second on the team behind the 6-2 Demos.
“Which is really good, especially when you’re playing next to Demos,” Kilbride said. “And Margaret (Temple) and Lenee rebound well, too. The four of them make us elite.”
Beaumont said that is an overlooked aspect of Benet’s game.
“They’re constantly working hard, doing all the little things, and it goes very unnoticed sometimes,” said Beaumont, who had 13 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals. “But it’s so huge to our offensive success.”
What is the secret to Trimberger’s rebounding success?
“When you’re offensive rebounding, it’s not necessarily your goal to be boxing somebody out,” Trimberger said. “You can go full force at the rim and try to get it.
“No one is expecting you to get it, so when you can put in the effort and go and get those, it really helps.”
That’s something Beaumont appreciates.
“She’s automatic,” Beaumont said. “She just keeps fighting. It’s awesome.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.