Benet’s Lindsay Harzich scored once against Kenwood in a Class 4A supersectional. About that basket …

Benet’s Lindsay Harzich wasn’t flustered, even with a trip to the state finals on the line.

The sophomore guard was ready when she saw teammate Lenee Beaumont start to drive toward her as time wound down in the Class 4A Hinsdale Central Supersectional on Monday.

“I was just thinking we better get a shot, and we better make it,” Harzich said.

They did — because she did.

Beaumont passed up a potential game-winning shot and got the ball underneath to Harzich, who sank an open layup with five seconds remaining, and the Redwings defeated Kenwood 47-46.

Benet (24-7) will be making their fifth appearance at the state finals in nine seasons and will play Geneva (29-3) in the semifinals at CEFCU Arena in Normal at 4:15 p.m. Friday.

“It’s a dream come true,” Beaumont said. “Since day one we’ve been working our butts off to get here. We didn’t win conference, we lost more games than in a typical Benet year, but the goal never changes.”

The script never seems to change for Beaumont, an Indiana recruit who was terrific again in leading all players with 25 points, nine rebounds and three assists, or for Harzich, the first-year starter who continues to show a knack for making big plays.

This one was the biggest yet. Harzich, who hadn’t scored and had missed her only two previous shots, sent Benet’s fans into a frenzy with her basket.

“I was just calm,” Harzich said. “When I saw the crowd jump up in the air, it was just amazing. It was crazy.”

Kenwood (30-6) called timeout with 1.6 seconds left, but Natasha Barnes’ contested 3-pointer from half-court missed at the buzzer. It was a wild ending to a seesaw thriller in which both teams rallied from double-digit deficits.

The Redwings used a 14-0 run to take a 42-32 lead, but Barnes and Danielle Brooks combined to score the next 14 points for Kenwood. Brooks’ 3-pointer from the left corner gave the Broncos a 46-45 lead with 17.3 seconds left.

Benet coach Joe Kilbride called timeout to set up a play against Kenwood’s full-court press.

“They’re like, ‘What are we running?’” Kilbride said. “We’re getting the ball to ‘Beau,’ and then she’s going to make something happen, which is exactly what did happen. It was great.”

Everyone assumed Beaumont would take the final shot, but the Redwings were prepared for anything.

“Kilbride was saying in the huddle that Lenee could get double-teamed, so any of us could be taking that end-game shot,” Harzich said. “So I knew we all had to be ready for it.”

Harzich hadn’t played much in the second half, but Kilbride had confidence in her.

“Lindsay is very calm,” Kilbride said. “She’s just sort of got a flat demeanor. You never know if she’s upset or rattled. She was great.”

How does Harzich stay cool in the heat of such a big moment?

“I always try to stay focused on what’s going on in the moment, and I never want to get nervous because that could result in bad things,” she said. “I feeling being calm, you’re going to play to your best potential that way.”

Beaumont didn’t make a basket in the second half, although she went 10 for 11 from the line. But Samantha Trimberger, Maggie Sularski, Emilia Sularski, Sadie Sterbenz, Bridget Rifenburg and finally Harzich all made one basket.

“There’s been plenty of times this year where I’ve been denied, double-teamed, even triple-teamed, but players got to step up,” Beaumont said. “So I just know they’re going to make those plays.”

So it was on the decisive play.

“Initially, I was just going to float up a shot, whatever it was,” Beaumont said. “But realistically, Lindsay’s going to make that layup 10 out of 10 times.

“I know she was struggling early on, but you can ask anyone on this team, I trust anyone to make that shot. I had a pretty good feeling that she was going to make it.”

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