Tough competition and big crowds don’t bother Benet sophomore Lindsay Harzich.
The 5-foot-9 guard has shown poise in the four games she has played since moving into the starting lineup.
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“I always try to be confident and always stay even-keeled,” Harzich said. “I was a little bit nervous, but it goes away for me right in the beginning of the game.”
That was the case Monday, when the Redwings hosted Noblesville, Indiana’s defending Class 4A state champion, at the 33rd annual Coach Kipp’s Hoopsfest. The prestigious shootout was merely another showcase for the varsity rookie.
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“It was great,” Harzich said. “It was amazing to get to play with this opportunity in front of all these people. We fought until the end.”
Harzich did her part, scoring nine points on 4-for-6 shooting to go with three assists, in a brilliantly played game by both teams. Neither side led by more than six points, and it wasn’t decided until Benet star Lenee Beaumont’s 65-foot heave fell a couple of feet short at the buzzer, allowing Noblesville to escape with a 64-61 victory.
“She’s done a nice job,” Benet coach Joe Kilbride said of Harzich. “For a month I was doing this five-out, five-in thing.
“I was auditioning the second group to see who was going to show me that they could be in the rotation, and Lindsay stood out among that group. So we’re trying to give her a little bit of an opportunity.”
Harzich is taking full advantage. She sank a game-tying 3-pointer early in the first quarter and made a go-ahead layup in the third quarter, which ended when she assisted on Beaumont’s 3-pointer that tied the game at 47-47.
The Indiana-bound Beaumont, who scored her 1,000th career point in Benet’s 60-36 win against Proviso West on Saturday, racked up 24 points, seven rebounds and seven assists against Noblesville. She has been impressed with Harzich for a while.
“Before the season started, we would do Saturday 7 a.m. workouts every weekend,” Beaumont said. “It was just us two with our trainer. She was always a hard worker, and she stuck with it.
“She makes sure she knows what she’s doing. So I love to see that she’s getting more minutes, starting and contributing against very good teams, which is awesome.”
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Both teams received awesome performances from their stars. Reagan Wilson scored a game-high 31 points and Meredith Tippner added 22 points for Noblesville (18-3), which shot 55%.
The Redwings (13-6) shot 57.5%, with senior center Samantha Trimberger pouring in a career-high 22 points on 11-for-11 shooting. All of her shots came from within 5 feet, usually off precision passes from Beaumont, Harzich or senior guard Sadie Sterbenz.
“It’s great when all the shots go in,” Trimberger said. “That’s always a bonus. I think our ball movement was really good, which allowed not only me but a bunch of people some good shots.”
Harzich was a part of that.
“Lindsay is always great,” Trimberger said. “She makes all of her open shots, and she’s a great driver. She helps us move the ball on offense, so when the ball is moving, things go well.”
Things are going surprisingly well for Harzich, who was not expected to start this season.
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“She started the year off double-rostered,” Beaumont said. “She wasn’t even really on varsity, not playing at all. I kept talking to her, saying, ‘Keep your confidence up, keep working hard,’ and she did just that.”
Kilbride likes Harzich’s demeanor.
“She’s a sophomore, so she’s still figuring some things out,” Kilbride said. “But she’s pretty composed. I never know if she’s nervous or not.”
Nervous or not, Harzich knows what’s important.
“It’s great to get the start,” Harzich said. “I love playing with all these great players, so it’s a big accomplishment for me.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
