Benet falls to O’Fallon in Class 4A championship

NORMAL — All season long, Benet battled.

So why would anything change through 32 minutes of regulation and two overtimes in the Class 4A state championship game on Saturday?

The Redwings fell behind by 15 in the second quarter but clawed their way back into contention before finally falling 62-57 to O’Fallon in a historic final at CEFCU Arena. 

After the first double-overtime title game in the 46 years of the IHSA state series, Benet (25-8) settled for the first runner-up finish in program history. It was the Redwings’ fourth state trophy since 2015, and one they won’t forget especially after that epic comeback. 

“Doesn’t matter how many we’re down by, we’re going to continue to battle till the horn goes off,” said Indiana recruit Lenee Beaumont, who scored a game-high 27 points. “I just am really proud of this group. Just to even be in this game is crazy.

“At the end of the day, it was a very competitive game. We put on a show.”

No doubt about that.

Emilia Sularski hit a three-pointer from the left wing to give Benet a 50-48 lead with 1:16 left in regulation.

Illinois State recruit Shannn Dowell, who finished with 25 points, made two free throws with 17.3 seconds left for O’Fallon (34-4) to tie it.

Benet missed two shots in the final six seconds of regulation.

After Beaumont and Sularski went 4 for 4 from the line to put Benet up 54-51 with 2:29 remaining in overtime, Dowell made a three-pointer from the right corner with 2:00 to play for another tie. Neither team scored again, sending the game to double overtime.

Indiana State recruit Jailah Pelly put O’Fallon ahead to stay at 58-56 with a basket with 2:26 left in the second overtime. She added two free throws with 15.8 seconds left and Dowell clinched it by hitting two foul shots with three seconds remaining.

Samantha Trimberger added 13 points for the Redwings and Emilia Sularski had 11.

“This team has a ton of heart,” Trimberger said. “We came together at halftime and said, ‘We want this so badly and let’s just leave it out there on the floor for these last two [quarters].

“It definitely hurts right now but this was a great game. I know for a fact I’m going to look back on this and the memories I’ve created with my team, with this game, this tournament.”

In the first quarter, O’Fallon held the ball for almost three minutes in an unsuccessful attempt to draw the Redwings out of their zone defense. That was fine with Benet coach Joe Kilbride.

“We wanted a little slower-paced game, we thought it would play to our advantage,” he said.

“For us to get here was an exceptional thing, For us to get down the way we did and battle our way back shows the guts these kids have, their toughness, their resilience.”