Malaina Kurth continues nice run, leads Cary-Grove to FVC win over Crystal Lake Central

CRYSTAL LAKE – Cary-Grove’s Malaina Kurth worked her way into a starting role two years ago as a freshman.

The Trojans guard has seen her game – and scoring – grow ever since.

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Cary-Grove’s Malaina Kurth, right, battles Crystal Lake Central’s Peyton McMahon for the ball in varsity girls basketball on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, at Crystal Lake Central High School in Crystal Lake. (Patrick Kunzer for Shaw Local/Patrick Kunzer for Shaw Local)

Kurth was named to the all-tournament team at the Libertyville Winter Classic during the holiday break. On Tuesday, she was the catalyst in C-G’s 49-17 runaway win over Crystal Lake Central in a Fox Valley Conference game.

“She was a key asset last year, but I’ve seen her confidence grow,” senior forward Ellie Mjaanes said of Kurth. “She steps into every shot with confidence and doesn’t get afraid to shoot it. She’s willing to take those shots, especially when we need them.

“She’s made quite a few big shots for us.”

Kurth made all three of her shots in the first half, including a pair of corner 3s, and added a team-high third 3 in the third quarter to finish with a game-high 14 points.

Trojans coach Tony Moretti said Kurth has been a model teammate.

“She’s a more confident player than she’s ever been,” Moretti said. “She’s shooting the ball with a ton of confidence and playing hard. Defense leads to offense for her, and she’s just doing things the right away.

“She puts her head down in practice and goes to work and gets better every day.”

All three of Kurth’s 3s came from a corner as she finished 3 of 4 from long range. She also looked to get her teammates involved early with four assists. On defense, she came up with three steals, contributing to 21 takeaways for C-G.

“I felt confident after I made my first one and second one, so I just kept shooting‚” said Kurth, who had five of the Trojans’ 10 points in the first quarter.

Kurth is one of two junior starters for C-G, along with point guard Kennedy Manning. Manning, like Kurth, got valuable minutes on varsity as a freshman. The Trojans went through some growing pains during that season with a 12-18 record, but turned around and went 20-12 with their first regional championship since 2018 last year.

“I just learned to play every day with passion and take pride in practice,” Kurth said. “Just keep pushing.”

Cary-Grove (11-6, 5-1 FVC) led the entire way Tuesday against Central (7-6, 2-3). The Tigers were playing without leading scorer Ruby Macke, who twisted her ankle against Glenbrook South on Saturday.

Central coach Joe Capalbo called Macke “day to day.”

Senior guard Hadley Ferrero led the Tigers with nine points and five rebounds, and senior forward Leah Spychala chipped in five points and eight rebounds.

“Obviously, between [Macke] and [Spychala], everything runs through those two for us,” Capalbo said. “Had a practice yesterday, tried to prep without her, but Ruby does so much for us on the defensive and offensive side – so just trying to get some other girls to step up and play out of position.

“Ruby scores a bunch for us, and we talked about it before the game, there’s a ton of minutes available. I told them green light – if you’ve got something, look to score and look for your shot.”

Mjaanes, who is commited to Division I Lehigh, was second on the team behind Kurth with 13 points. Manning collected eight points, including two 3s, two assists and two steals, senior Sam Skerl had seven points, and Alivia Nielsen added five.

The Trojans are hoping to compete for an FVC title this year after taking fourth a year ago. With Tuesday’s win, C-G is one of two teams, along with Crystal Lake South, with one loss. Unbeaten Huntley leads the FVC at 5-0.

“I think we have a real high ceiling,” Mjaanes said.