Huntley’s historic, undefeated season comes to an end with supersectional loss to Loyola Academy

GURNEE – Huntley senior starters Anna Campanelli, Paula Strzelecki and Ava McFadden left Monday’s Class 4A Warren Supersectional against Loyola Academy to loud cheers from fans and hugs from teammates with just over three minutes remaining.

The top-seeded Red Raiders, the last undefeated team in the state, ended a historic run with a 57-33 loss to the No. 1-seeded Ramblers. It was the first loss in more than a year for Huntley, which was hoping to continue its perfect season and reach state for the first time since 2016.

Instead, it will be Loyola going back to Illinois State University’s CEFCU Arena in Normal. The Ramblers (34-2), last year’s state champ, will meet Fremd in the semifinals at 1:15 p.m. Friday.

“We got all the days we could together, and that’s what mattered most to us,” said Campanelli, who ends her career as a top-five scorer in program history. “Obviously it’s super sad, but that just shows you how close our group was. We’re really fortunate to come from a program like that.”

Huntley (35-1) had an uncharacteristic start with 15 first-half turnovers, while Loyola (34-2) hit five of its six first-half 3-pointers in the first quarter to take a 21-10 lead.

That lead grew in the second quarter as four Ramblers scored seven or more points in the first half. Senior point guard Aubrey Galvan finished with 17 points and three 3-pointers, junior Marycait Mackie had 16 points and four 3s, junior Clare Weasler had 10 points and Grace Bronski and Emily Naraky added seven points apiece.

Loyola was undefeated last year to win its third state championship. Galvan and the Ramblers were very aware that the Raiders were trying to pull off something similar.

“The fact that they were undefeated, that always means something,” Galvan said. “We always talk about how we want to put it right back on them. If they get a layup, they’re excited. You have to put it back, push the floor, and I think we executed that really well today.”

Campanelli, who will play next year at Division I Kent State, finished with a game-high 18 points, knocking down 7 of 8 free throws. She also hit a half-court shot at the first-half buzzer on a line drive that hit the backboard and dropped in.

That halftime buzzer-beater cut the deficit to 36-21, but the Ramblers came out of the half on a 10-4 run. Galvan nailed a 3 at the third-quarter buzzer, while Mackie made her fourth and last 3 with seven minutes to go in the fourth quarter to start a running clock.

“They space the floor so incredibly well, and they’re skilled offensively,” Huntley coach Steve Raethz said. “All five players have the ability to knock down the 3. They pass and catch it well, they drive the basket and that obviously starts with Aubrey Galvan. She makes them go, but they just have so many weapons.

“They put so much pressure on you defensively to guard all five spots.”

Strzelecki was second on the Raiders with seven points and a game-high 13 rebounds. McFadden scored four points, and junior Aubrina Adamik, who made six 3s in Huntley’s sectional final win over Libertyville on Thursday, chipped in two points.

Huntley’s defense came in allowing 27.6 points a game. Loyola hit that mark with 5:35 left in the second quarter.

“I know we had some good drives to the basket, but our shooting was not our best today,” said McFadden, whose Raiders shot 34.6% (9 of 26) with 24 turnovers. “I feel like that’s what kind of got us. They’re a great team.”

Huntley’s 35 wins are the most ever for a Northwest Herald-area girls basketball team, according to IHSA records. The Raiders also earned their fourth consecutive Fox Valley Conference championship, going 18-0, and are 70-2 in FVC play since the start of the 2021-22 season.

This year’s group never took a day off.

“I don’t think I’ve coached a group who worked as hard, who competed as hard as they did every day, and who cared about each other as much as they did,” Raethz said. “It’s a great recipe for success. Those 14 kids are hurting in there right now, but I’m incredibly proud of them. To our five seniors (Campanelli, Strzelecki, McFadden, Madison Diaz, Isabella Boskey), we’re going to miss them incredibly. Their impact on our program has been immeasurable.”

Campanelli said this year’s team always wanted more.

“We have a lot of athleticism down the line ... and we were hungry for it,” Campanelli said. “Going into every game, everyone had that competitive edge. I think that’s what made us successful.”

McFadden said all 14 players had each other’s backs.

“We had so much confidence in each other all of the time,” McFadden said. “When someone was down, they got picked up right away. Just always believing in each other helped us this entire season.”