The skill set of Benet’s Lenee Beaumont’s contains many beautiful elements.
The junior guard has a silky-smooth shot, an ability to make precision passes look easy and a natural athleticism that allows her 6-foot frame to glide across the court like a swan swimming on a pond.
Beaumont did all of that Tuesday night against Homewood-Flossmoor in the Naperville Central Tip-Off Tournament. But she also proved — to paraphrase Will Smith — she’s not afraid of getting gritty with it.
While Beaumont didn’t flinch in the face of H-F’s typically rugged defense, neither did her teammates. She scored 16 points, but her willingness to go to the floor and battle for loose balls helped the Redwings turn the tide for a 56-39 victory.
“Coach (Joe Kilbride) always emphasizes keeping your composure,” Beaumont said. “It was frustrating being all physical, but I knew I had to stay steady and just know my teammates got my back.”
Beaumont found herself on her back midway through the first quarter after getting the ball stripped. She chased after her opponent and grabbed the ball back as both players fell to the floor, then got the ball to teammate Margaret Temple.
Maggie Sularski eventually ended that possession for Benet (4-0) by hitting the first of her two 3-pointers to force an 8-8 tie.
“It’s exciting when we get the ball back and are able to make exciting plays from it,” Temple said. “That’s what motivates us throughout the game.
“This was a physical team, and we knew that coming in here. Our mindset was help our teammates out and make sure we’re composed and we’re calm with the ball so we don’t make turnovers.”
Beaumont and Temple were the primary ballhandlers against H-F (3-1), which can feast in transition if teams are careless.
Beaumont sank a 3-pointer off an inbounds pass from Temple on the next possession to give the Redwings an 11-8 lead and they never trailed again.
“I thought she did a really good job against pressure,” Kilbride said of Beaumont. “They play really hard. They guard, they get into you, and I thought it took us a little while to adjust.
“But I thought she did a really good job of getting us up the court. Honestly, I thought when we were aggressive and attacking, they were all pretty good.”
Indeed, the Redwings made only one turnover in the third quarter in stretching a 28-19 halftime lead to 50-32.
Navy-bound center Morgan Demos was a force, finishing with 13 points, 13 rebounds, three steals and two assists. Junior forward Samantha Trimberger added 10 points, nine rebounds and four steals.
Temple contributed eight points on 3-for-4 shooting to go with three steals, while Sularski scored seven points.
Much of the offense in the second half came at the free-throw line as the game turned into a foul-plagued slog. The Vikings had two starters foul out, including leading scorer Ana-Liese Torian, who finished with 16 points.
“We just remained focused the entire time,” Beaumont said. “Things didn’t go our way at times but we just turned to each other.
“We were like, “Hey, we’ve got to get the next one.’ We knew it was our first real competitive game of the season.”
The Vikings began the fourth quarter with a 7-0 burst to pull within 50-39 with 5:49 remaining, but Benet did not allow another point.
Beaumont is being guarded more aggressively this season but remains unfazed.
“I experienced it a lot throughout the summer with travel basketball,” she said. “I’m just continuing to improve and make sure I’m ready for those situations.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
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Benet's Lenee Beaumont plays a beautiful game. Silky-smooth shot. Precise passes. A natural athlete. H-F finds out she can get gritty, too. - Chicago Tribune
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