All Joe Kilbride could do was say thank you.
After the ride Kathleen Doyle and the rest of her teammates took him on during his first two years at the helm of Benet’s girls’ basketball program, no one could blame him.
With Benet’s Class 4A title hopes hanging in the balance against Fremd on March 5, Doyle’s fade from beyond the three-point line was the impetus for a 42-39 Redwings’ victory.
It was shots like those – taken with the full confidence of her teammates – that helped frame a two-year stretch that saw the Redwings go 66-6 with a pair of Class 4A state titles.
“She’s a once-in-a-lifetime player and I was just very fortunate to be part of her lifetime,” Kilbride said of Doyle. “That’s all. She’s unbelievable. What a great kid. What a great competitor and you could see it – she just never wavered. No rattle. The kids are really good about that. They’re just playing and she was unbelievable the whole night.”
Doyle averaged 17.6 points as a senior in 2015-16 – up from the 13.4 points she averaged as a junior as the Redwings went 34-3 on their way to claiming the first state title in program history.
As part of a 34-win campaign in 2014-15, she dished out 194 assists as Emily Schramek and Emily Eshoo helped carry the scoring load.
With the two Emilys gone this year, that number fell to 145 while she took on more of the scoring load herself as Doyle and Elise Stout were the only two Redwings to average double figures.
“I think my team just looked to me a little more than last year,” Doyle said. “We lost two good scorers, so that was probably the biggest thing. Elise and Katie (Jaseckas), Kendal (Schramek), Sami (Valentine) – we all had to fill in scoring and I think that was probably the biggest difference.
“We had to fill in their scoring holes. We were probably better on defense this year and a little less on offense, but we got the job done. That’s all I can say.”
For her younger teammates, her presence inside the program will never be forgotten.
“She’s the best player out here,” Jaseckas said of Doyle. “I think she’s the best player in Illinois. I’ve been blessed to play with her. She’s been amazing. She brings out the best in me and she’s a phenomenal player.”
Named Illinois’ Ms. Basketball on March 22, she now heads to Lincoln, Neb. to begin her next four years as a Nebraska Cornhusker while looking to make inroads across the Big Ten.
But she does so with the knowledge that it has indeed been one heck of a time the last two years in Lisle.
“Playing for Benet basketball has been something special,” Doyle said. “Under Mr. (Peter) Paul even in my freshman and sophomore year and then to Mr. Kilbride. I love everybody that has anything to do with this program and I can’t say enough. I can’t thank them enough – everyone at Benet for their support. I just want to say thank you. It’s been a real pleasure to play for Benet.”
