Girls basketball notes: Huntley delivers in memorable weekend of games

Huntley earned one of its most memorable wins in program history Saturday with a 54-52 double overtime victory against Stevenson – last year’s Class 4A state champion – at NOW Arena in Hoffman Estates.

The win came just hours after Huntley defeated Hampshire 51-48 in a battle of Fox Valley Conference co-leaders in a packed gym at Hampshire.

Saturday’s win against Stevenson featured several ties and lead changes in the fourth quarter and both overtime periods.

Senior guard Sammi Campanelli sent the Red Raiders (10-1) to overtime on a corner 3-pointer with about 30 seconds remaining. In overtime, several Raiders stepped up and made key baskets and free throws, including Anna Campanelli, Jessie Ozzauto and Ava McFadden.

Ashlyn Horton came up with a big defensive stop against Stevenson forward Emory Klatt (game-high 31 points) in the second overtime period and then hit two game-winning free throws with 3.7 seconds remaining to seal the win. Huntley coach Steve Raethz also credited Mallory Winters for her defensive play against Klatt during a fourth quarter in which the Raiders outscored the Patriots 20-12 to force overtime.

“It’s been a while where I can think of a game with so many ties and lead changes in the final moments,” Raethz said. “That was just really fun to be a part of, to see two really good teams go at it like that. It’s an experience our players will always remember.

“For a large portion of that game, we were playing from behind. I have to give our players credit for how they continued to chip away and stuck with it. I thought our players just played so hard and incredibly well in the second half.”

Huntley’s only loss in 11 games so far has come against Lake Zurich 61-49 on Dec. 3. Lake Zurich played Stevenson on Dec. 6 in a low-scoring affair, beating the Patriots 37-34.

The Raiders entered the season as heavy FVC favorites and have won their first five games in conference play. Huntley also won Dundee-Crown’s Thanksgiving Tournament to start the season with victories against Boylan, Hononegah, St. Viator and Palatine.

This past weekend’s games, however, really stood out.

“I look back at that weekend in general with back-to-back incredible games, two high-pressure games,” Raethz said. “The night before we play Hampshire, which is a really good team and well coached. It was a “Pack the Place” night at their place with a great crowd. To come back the next day and play Stevenson in a really tight game and come away with two wins like that can only help us down the stretch.

“It’s good this early in the season that we have those experiences, and we can draw from those later on.”

Marian Central having fun: The past few years have been tough on Marian Central, going up against some of the state’s top teams in the rugged East Suburban Catholic Conference. The Hurricanes went 5-20 last season, 3-10 in 2021 [the COVID-19-shortened season] and 10-22 in 2020.

After a 54-53 comeback win against Rockford Lutheran on Monday, the Hurricanes (9-3) already have more wins than the past two seasons combined. In Monday’s win, Marian stormed back from an eight-point deficit in the final two minutes, winning on a game-winning basket by sophomore Abbey Miner.

Hurricanes first-year coach Lee Brown, a 1995 Dundee-Crown graduate who went on to play at George Mason, said the team has a strong connection.

“They get along, they like to have fun and they like to see each other do well,” Brown said. “We give ourselves a chance to win every night. A lot of them were young last year, just sophomores and freshmen, so they got quality playing time. Playing in the East Suburban Conference, you know, that’s tough.

“They took their lumps, but I think it helped build character.”

Junior forward Madison Kenyon, the team’s top scorer, said playing in the ESCC the past few years was tough because of the losses. Still, she thinks it helped in the long run.

“It really does prepare you for anything,” Kenyon said. “We played teams that went to state all the time. We went against a lot of [Division I] players. I think we’re stronger because of it.”

Christmas time: The Northern Illinois Holiday Classic, hosted by McHenry and Richmond-Burton, starts Saturday with each of the 12 teams playing their first two pool games. Nine of the 16 teams at this year’s tournament are local, including Crystal Lake Central, Crystal Lake South, Johnsburg, Marengo, Marian Central, McHenry, Prairie Ridge, Richmond-Burton and Woodstock North.

Nonlocal teams include Amundsen, Belvidere, DeKalb, Grayslake North, Lakes, Round Lake and Wauconda.

The tournament runs through Thursday, Dec. 22, with the championship played at McHenry’s Upper Campus at 6:30 p.m.

Prairie Ridge won last year for the first time, beating Round Lake 49-38. The tournament was not played in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Elsewhere, Cary-Grove plays its first game at the Libertyville Winter Classic at 11 a.m. Saturday against Loyola Academy.

Other Christmas tournaments involving local teams that begin after Dec. 27 are at North Boone (Alden-Hebron, Harvard), Montini (Burlington Central), Dundee-Crown (Hampshire, Huntley), Wheaton North (Jacobs) and Boylan (Marian Central).