Girls Basketball: Julia Benjamin bounces back, shoots Glenbard West past St. Francis

Glenbard West’s Julia Benjamin couldn’t recall her first shot of Thursday’s game.

The sophomore guard had a shot to forget, for sure.

On the first shot of the game at St. Francis, Benjamin fired an air-ball from the 3-point line.

But Benjamin, like a true shooter, had a short memory.

“I don’t remember, but it could’ve been me,” Benjamin said, when asked about her missed trey.

Soon enough, Benjamin bounced back in a memorable way by drilling four 3-pointers to finish with 14 points to power the Hilltoppers to a 48-26 win over St. Francis.

Benjamin sparked the Hilltoppers in the second half, hitting three 3-pointers for 11 third-quarter points to turn the nonconference game into a blowout.

“This game was fun,” Benjamin said. “It was a team game and all about family. We came out and played together. I started making a few shots in the third quarter. My teammates picked up me and helped me out.”

The Hilltoppers (12-8) pulled away in the second half in a physical game with few fouls calls despite the aggressiveness of both teams, which hurt the young Spartans. Sophia Brown scored 10 points, Makenna Yeager had seven points and Kennedy Brandt added five for the Hilltoppers.

“It was a fun night and our players played hard and we tried to push the pace and our defense fueled our offense,” Glenbard West coach Kristi Faulkner said. “We did a good job on the boards. It was a good team effort.”

The Spartans (13-7) fell victim to a bigger and stronger team, as the lack of calls hurt them, especially in the final two quarters. Sophomore guard Tea Rubino flashed her immense potential, battling hard throughout the game to end with 14 points to lead the Spartans. She scored all of her points in the first three quarters, including burying two 3-pointers.

“It was a very physical game and they let them play,” St. Francis coach Jeff Gerdeman said. “We have to adapt to that, but we will learn from this game. Glenbard West is a solid team and played tough. We didn’t back down, but we couldn’t get into an offensive rhythm. I’m pleased with our defense.”