Girls basketball: Hampshire knocks off Cary-Grove to keep pace in Fox Valley Conference race

HAMPSHIRE – Cary-Grove senior guard Emily Larry hit a 3-pointer at one end of the floor, trimming a once 17-point deficit against Hampshire to seven.

Hampshire senior guard Ashley Herzing answered on the other end, canning her fourth 3 of the game halfway through the fourth quarter.

Herzing and the Whip-Purs, who had gone a whole month since their last win at home, wouldn’t bend. Hampshire put together a full four quarters on its way to a 50-39 win over C-G in their Fox Valley Conference game Friday.

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Hampshire's Avery Cartee shoots the ball while she is defended by Cary-Grove's Alivia Nielsen during a Fox Valley Conference girls basketball game Friday, Jan. 26, 2024, at Hampshire High School. (Gregory Shaver/Gregory Shaver )

The victory kept the Whips (15-10, 10-2 FVC) in second place in the conference, a game behind Huntley. The Trojans, one of the area’s hottest teams with wins in their previous six conference games, fell to 14-9, 8-4.

“The last couple of games we’ve been trying to piece together all four quarters,” said Herzing, who leads the area in 3s and recently surpassed 1,000 career points. “Some games we play the first quarter full out, and some games we play the fourth quarter full out.

“I think our main goal today was to come out hard and try to attack every quarter with them most energy we could.”

Hampshire lost a key FVC game against Huntley on Wednesday, finishing with a season-low 23 points, but hit that point total less than halfway through the second quarter.

In the second, the Whips held the Trojans to three points and took a 31-15 lead into the break.

Whip-Purs coach Eric Samuelson was proud of the fight his team displayed throughout Friday’s game. Junior Chloe Van Horn was on the floor trying to to wrestle the ball away from C-G on multiple possessions.

“They’re fully aware that we can only control what we do,” Samuelson said. “I tell them every day, before every game and every timeout, just fight. Fight on every single possession, fight for the ball and fight for each other.”

Herzing led the Whips with 21 points, four 3-pointers and four assists. Senior guard Whitney Thompson (two 3s) and Van Horn tossed in eight points apiece, and sophomore Mikala Amegasse added six points and six rebounds.

Herzing felt the Whips played better collectively Friday.

“We’re always working on playing better together, and that’s something that we learned after that game [against Huntley],” Herzing said. “Whatever five is on the floor is the five that needs to be constantly passing the ball and looking for each other.”

Samuelson praised the defensive effort of senior forward Sophie Oleferchik, who was tasked with defending 6-foot-2 junior Ellie Mjaanes. She held Mjaanes to 14 points, including five in the first half, and finished with three blocks.

“I think Sophie was our MVP tonight,” Samuelson said. “Ellie is a really good basketball player. Sophie played her butt off. That kid just comes to work every single day. She can care less if she scores, and she will do everything she can to make sure her team is successful.

“I’m super proud of her.”

Sophomore guard Malaina Kurth scored seven points for C-G, Larry had six points on two 3s, and Morgan Haslow came off the bench with five points.

Cary-Grove coach Tony Moretti was proud of his team for getting back in the game after a tough second quarter.

“They sped us up a bit, and we got sloppy with the basketball,” Moretti said. “We just weren’t running our offense. But give credit to Hampshire. We’ve been a hot team, and they cooled us off tonight.

“We know what kind of team we are. The girls never quit. That’s what they always do.”

Hampshire will look to keep pace with Huntley in the FVC with six games left. In the big picture, Thompson knows her team is capable of big things.

“We say fight on every single play. We fight for it,” Thompson said. “Every single thing that we do leads to offense. No matter what team we’re playing, we’ve always got to come out and play as five. Never me over we, that’s the best version of ourselves.”