So much amazing talent has come through the Benet Academy girls basketball program with familiar names like Kathleen Doyle, Brooke Schramek and Kendall Moriarty all thriving at the next level. Another star has emerged among the elite players in the program in 6-foot senior guard Lenee Beaumont. She is a top 100 prospect in the nation sitting at number 83 in the 2023 HoopGurlz Recruiting Rankings and her Redwing team once again looks like one of the best in the state of Illinois. This Feature Story is presented by Edward-Elmhurst Health.
Lenee Beaumont has been around the game of basketball for basically her whole life.
“I started when I first could walk, basically. My dad was a boys high school coach at Glenbard South so he would pick me up from school and I would go straight to the gym, basically. I had no idea what I was doing, but I would just kind of like be a distraction. I would just be on the sidelines dribbling up and down,” said Lenee Beaumont, guard for Benet Academy girls basketball.
Beaumont Grows up Rooting for Redwings
Her idol growing up was Kathleen Doyle, a star at Benet, leading the team to back-to-back state titles and a winner of the 2016 Ms. Basketball in Illinois. She has had a major impact in Beaumont’s life, especially on her basketball career.
“She went to the state tournament and just kind of killed over there. I would watch TV and then I’d go right outside to go practice her moves and stuff,” said Beaumont.
Beaumont always wanted to meet her idol and head coach Joe Kilbride gave her that opportunity.
“He brought her to practice one day and this was like past week. So I finally got to meet her for once, which was awesome. She was so down to earth answering all my questions, just being a great leader. So it was awesome to meet her,” said Beaumont.
Learning from the Benet Greats
Beaumont first made Benet varsity her freshman year in 2019 where she was a part of a 29-3 Redwings team with Division I recruits Brooke Schramek, Kendall Moriarty, Morgan Demos and Kendall Holmes. Their mentorship to Beaumont has proved to be crucial to her career with the program.
“I have Brooke who’s constantly giving me advice. She’s killing it at Wisconsin right now, so it’s just great to have those people and they really taught me, now being a senior, a good culture, good habits, like how to establish that stuff, “ said Beaumont.
After earning All-State honors as a junior and helping Benet to a 4th place finish at state a season ago, Beaumont has taken a big step forward in her game. The senior is taking on an even larger role now after key players from last season graduated. Her scoring and shooting percentages have gone up and she’s already had multiple 25-plus point games against some of the top teams in the area. She has emerged as a clear candidate for the 2023 Ms. Basketball award. One of the reasons for the statistical improvements has been her aggressiveness on the offensive end.
“I think my coaches, my trainers. Everyone’s really helped me develop that, they say like ‘killer mindset.’ I’m still working on it, but it’s definitely headed in the right direction I would say,” said Beaumont.
“This year she’s shooting 56 percent from two, 54 percent from three, 88 percent from the free throw line, averaging 25 a game. So, she’s averaging 25 a game, but doing it incredibly efficiently,” said Joe Kilbride, head coach of Benet Academy girls basketball.
A Leader on and off the Court
Not only has the senior had a positive effect on the court, but also off the court with her teammates.
“She’s very kind, very nice. I feel like she’s very opposite from on the basketball court to in person. She’s a beast on the court, but a nice person,” said junior Maggie Sularski, guard for Benet Academy girls basketball.
After this season, Beaumont will be heading to Bloomington to play for the Indiana Hoosiers who she committed to back in April. IU is currently ranked number 4 in the nation and she couldn’t be more excited to play in the Big Ten, where several former Redwings, including former Iowa grad Kathleen Doyle, have made their mark.
“They’re killing it this year, top 5. I’m excited to see where that takes off. I hope they win the Big Ten, all that stuff, but I’m going to go in as a freshman, do whatever they ask me to do, basically, and just try to help in any way possible,” said Beaumont.
In the meantime, she’s focused on continuing to make strides on the court, and help the Redwings get back to Redbird Arena in Normal by season’s end.
For Naperville Sports Weekly, I’m Josiah Schueneman.
