Girls basketball notes: Huntley’s FVC winning streak ends at hands of Cary-Grove

Cary-Grove ended the first half of the Fox Valley Conference schedule with four straight wins and felt confident going into arguably its toughest stretch of games.

The Trojans’ rising confidence and improved play reached another level Friday night with a 50-17 victory against Huntley, which had not lost an FVC game since Jan. 21, 2022.

Cary-Grove (13-8, 7-3 FVC) took control early and ran away from the Red Raiders (15-6, 9-1), earning a running clock after three quarters and ending Huntley’s 37-game FVC winning streak.

Senior guard Emily Larry led the Trojans with 22 points and six 3-pointers, junior forward Ellie Mjaanes scored 13 points and junior guard Sam Skerl had five.

Huntley beat C-G 34-27 in the teams’ first meeting Nov. 28. Coach Tony Moretti said his team came into the second game with a different defensive strategy.

“We wanted to make them shoot the ball,” Moretti said. “We felt like when we played them the first time, we let them inside the zone a little too much. This time, we really protected the middle of the zone and made them pass the ball on the outside and settle for 3-point shots. I think what we did was really just kind of slow them down.”

Moretti likes where the Trojans are headed with the postseason not far away. C-G also remains in contention for an FVC title.

“These girls have turned the page on some things, and we’re moving forward with the same goal,” Moretti said. “I’m excited for the second half, I really am.”

Spychala’s growing confidence: Crystal Lake Central junior forward Leah Spychala shined bright Friday in a 65-59 Fox Valley Conference victory over Burlington Central, scoring a career-high 21 points as the Tigers won for the seventh time in eight games.

With the Rockets paying close attention to Northwest Herald-area leading scorer Katie Hamill, Spychala was the focal point of the Tigers’ offense early.

The 6-foot-1 Spychala scored 14 of her 21 points on 6-of-7 shooting in the first half, making two 3-pointers and showcasing her all-around game.

Crystal Lake Central coach Derek Crabill has watched Spychala gain more confidence and become more decisive with the basketball.

“I think the biggest thing is her focus once she has the ball,” Crabill said. “Early on, she was trying to make things too difficult, and that was allowing teams to double team her and get into better position. She’s going to the basket a lot quicker now.

“She can really shoot it, too. I hope this shows her just how good she can be.”

Spychala feels the Tigers (11-8, 6-3) are starting to put it all together.

“It’s always the goal to have more wins in the second half than the first half,” she said. “But I think the second goal is to make sure when we’re done with the season, we can look back and be proud of what we did. We’ve been working very hard, and I think the losses we do have were learning points for us. We’ve gotten so much better throughout the year.”

From downtown: Burlington Central senior forward Emma Payton had a career night Friday against Crystal Lake Central, scoring a career-high 29 points and making 9-of-16 3-pointers.

In her previous game, Payton struggled from the field. Payton got a little help from her dad, who sent her an Instagram video of Steph Curry with a focus on the mental side of shooting. That seemed to do the trick for Payton, who came out firing against the Tigers.

She made two 3s in the first quarter, three in the second, three in the third and one in the fourth. As a team, the Rockets nailed 15 3-pointers, also getting four from senior Savannah Scheuer and two from senior Emersyn Fry.

Payton, who will play next year at NCAA Division III Trine University in Angola, Indiana, said she was looking forward to facing Crystal Lake Central after missing the first game with a concussion.

“I mentally had to take a step back and just go back to the fundamentals,” Payton said. “My dad sent me an Instagram reel of Steph Curry, and I kind of related that to myself. I came into the game just wanting to win.”

Many of Payton’s 3s came with a hand in her face. That didn’t stop Payton from a memorable performance.

“My teammates did a great job bringing [Crystal Lake Central] into the middle and finding me on the kick out,” Payton said. “I think our ball movement was amazing. Our whole team effort was great tonight.”

Herzing reaches 1,000: Hampshire senior Ashley Herzing surpassed 1,000 career points in the Whip-Purs’ 52-21 FVC win against Prairie Ridge on Friday, becoming the second area player to reach the scoring milestone this year (Alden-Hebron’s Jessica Webber).

Herzing, who committed to D-III Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota, last month, scored 16 points and sank four 3s in the victory. The Whips’ sharpshooter is among the area’s top scorers at 13.3 points a game and leads all players with 59 3-pointers.

Marengo jumps to front of KRC: Marengo avenged an early-season loss to Woodstock on Friday with a 34-27 win to take sole possession of first place in the Kishwaukee River Conference. The Indians (13-8, 7-1) have been the class of the KRC in recent seasons with four of the past five conference championships.

Woodstock and Johnsburg are both 7-2 in conference play.

Marengo finishes the KRC season against Plano, Harvard, Woodstock North, Johnsburg, Richmond-Burton and Sandwich.