Big Ten recruits Jordan Wood and Lenee Beaumont meet for last time in high school as Carmel edges Benet

Carmel senior Jordan Wood was jubilant and Benet senior Lenee Beaumont was dejected when the Big Ten recruits met in the handshake line Wednesday night.

Wood gave Beaumont a hug, acknowledging their friendship and the end of a great rivalry. It was the last time they will play against each other in high school.

“It’s been pretty exciting,” Beaumont said. “She’s a fantastic player and one of my best friends, so it’s always good to have that rivalry. She’s a great competitor.”

The final meeting between the two went down to the wire. Beaumont sank a contested go-ahead 3-pointer from the top of the key with 10 seconds to go, but Wood made two free throws with 2.7 seconds left to give the visiting Corsairs a 35-34 victory in the East Suburban Catholic Conference semifinals in Lisle.

Beaumont, an Indiana recruit, scored a game-high 18 points and also had five rebounds and four assists. Her clutch 3-pointer came 14 seconds after Wood, a Michigan State recruit, converted a traditional 3-point play to give Carmel (21-5) a 33-31 lead. Wood finished with 16 points.

“Lenee is a great player,” Wood said. “She’s going to hit shots like that. We knew as soon as I hit that one layup and the free throw. I was like, ‘We’ve got to guard Lenee.’”

Carmel, which had lost twice to Benet this season, called a timeout with 7.3 seconds left. The Redwings (17-7) had three fouls to give and used two of them.

Beaumont was trying for a third when she grabbed Wood in the right corner before Wood could shoot. The referees ruled Wood was in the act of shooting and awarded her two free throws. Benet coach Joe Kilbride strenuously argued, to no avail.

“Those were big free throws, and she knocked them down,” Beaumont said.

That didn’t come as a surprise to Beaumont.

“Honestly, as soon as she got to the line, I was pretty confident that she was going to go 2 for 2,” Beaumont said. “She’s a fantastic free-throw shooter her whole career. Any time I’ve played against her or with her, she’s consistent with her free throws.”

The ending brought a sense of déjà vu. Benet is 6-2 against Carmel during Beaumont’s and Wood’s careers, with both of Carmel’s wins coming on the road in the ESCC Tournament semifinals.

Nearly a year ago to the day, the Corsairs won in similar fashion. Ashley Schlabowske was fouled in the same area of the court as Wood was, was ruled to have been in the act of shooting and sank three free throws with 1.8 seconds left to give Carmel a 46-45 win.

“I don’t really complain about the officials, but two years in a row we lost on the same bad call,” Kilbride said. “It’s very frustrating.

“I told (the team) the same thing happened to us last year. We lost to Carmel in the semifinals at home on the exact same bad call. We ended up downstate, so maybe this is foreshadowing good things.”

Good things could be ahead for both teams. Mia Gillis had 10 points and eight rebounds for Carmel, which will travel to Nazareth for the conference championship game on Saturday. A conference title is the one thing Wood’s resume — which includes the 2022 Class 3A state championship — is missing.

“I’ve done all that, personal records,” Wood said. “Conference championship — we’ve got to get it done.”

Benet, meanwhile, got nine points and two steals from senior guard Sadie Sterbenz, who hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer to start the fourth quarter.

“Sadie came up big,” Beaumont said. “That three was fantastic. Her defense is always amazing, but today a lot of those hustle plays kept us in the game, which was great to see.”

Beaumont and Wood are always happy to see each other. Their next on-court meeting will come in the Big Ten, which was why the ending Wednesday was a little bittersweet.

“She immediately picked me up after the game,” Beaumont said. “That’s just the type of person she is. She’s a great person, great player.

“I can’t wait to play her in the Big Ten, which will be super exciting. It’s great this was our last game playing each other.”

Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.