Huntley stays unbeaten with Komaromy semifinal win over Stevenson

CARPENTERSVILLE – Undefeated Huntley was ready to battle when the Red Raiders faced Stevenson in the semifinals of the 41st annual Komaromy Classic girls basketball tournament Saturday night at Dundee-Crown.

The Patriots were able to hang tough with Huntley (13-0) for pretty much the whole game. But the Red Raiders still held off Stevenson (9-5) for a 42-31 victory to advance to the championship game of the tourney against Maine South (13-3) at 8 p.m. Monday.

Stevenson will play St. Charles North for third place at 6:30 p.m. Monday.

Huntley jumped out to a 17-8 lead late in the first quarter on a 3-pointer by Alyssa Borzych (five points). Kent State-bound Anna Campanelli (13 points, six rebounds) picked up two quick fouls in the first quarter and sat out the entire second quarter.

The Patriots went into halftime trailing 26-16 as they were outscored 9-5 in a defensive struggle of a second quarter.

Huntley could not shake the pesky Pats as it was outscored 9-6 in the third quarter to take a 32-25 lead into the fourth quarter.

But Stevenson would get no closer than 36-29 on an inside basket by Alexa Karcz with 5:49 to play as the Red Raiders outscored the Patriots 6-2 the rest of the way to seal the victory.

“We ran into some foul trouble with Anna (Campanelli) getting two quick fouls, but we did enough to maintain our lead for most of the game,” said Huntley coach Steve Raethz. “We are excited for the opportunity to play Maine South in the championship game Monday night and it will be a tough challenge.”

Paula Strzelecki had 13 points and seven rebounds for the Red Raiders, while teammate Ava McFadden had eight points and seven rebounds.

“I obviously didn’t want that [foul trouble], but we had a lot of girls step up like [Borzych] with some big shots,” said Campanelli. “I think we definitely have the girls to bring a good game [against Maine South].”

Stevenson was led by senior Nisha Musunuri with a game-high 15 points and 11 rebounds while teammates Michelle Dubilirer and Reese McLelland had five points and five rebounds each.

“I’m really proud of the way we stuck with them, and that’s a really good team we just played,” said Stevenson coach Regan Carmichael. “She (Musunuri) did a great job, she’s the epitome of playing hard, and she handled their pressure really well.”

https://www.dailyherald.com/20241228/girls-basketball/girls-basketball-huntley-stays-perfect-with-komaromy-semifinal-win-over-stevenson/