Huntley beats Rockford Lutheran, Rock Island to win DeKalb title
The Huntley girls basketball team faced a daunting task as it attempted to defend its championship Monday in the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Tournament at DeKalb.
The No. 4 seed Red Raiders rose to the occasion as they disposed of previously undefeated and top-seeded Rockford Lutheran 47-38 in the semifinals, then found the resolve down the stretch to knock off No. 2 seed Rock Island 38-35 in a physical title game.
Huntley (19-3) trailed 30-28 heading into the fourth against Rock Island (19-3) when junior forward Morgan Clausen stepped up with 6 points to put the Red Raiders in front 36-32.
Kayla Barreto dropped in a pair of clutch free throws for a 38-35 Huntley lead with 13 seconds left and standout freshman Breanna Beal's long 3-pointer at the buzzer rimmed off for the Rocks, ranked No. 6 in Class 4A in the latest Associated Press poll.
Tournament MVP Ali Andrews scored 12 of her team-high 16 points in the first half for Huntley while Clausen and all-tournament selection Barreto chipped in 9 points apiece.
"They were really doubling hard on Ali and we knew we needed people to step up," Clausen said. "Maddie (Moffett) gave me some great passes and I was able to finish. It's really exciting. This means a lot to us."
"To play two quality teams like that back to back, our kids really had to dig deep," said Huntley coach Steve Raethz. "What a great defensive job by our players tonight."
The contest was tight throughout, with Huntley holding the largest lead at 19-13 after a pair of baskets from Andrews and a long 3-pointer from Barreto.
With Paige Renkosik and Maddie Moffett hounding Beal, the versatile 6-foot guard all over the court, Annika Anderson stepped up for Rock Island with four first half 3-pointers. Her fourth gave the Rocks a 25-24 lead at halftime.
The Rocks maintained their narrow lead as Anderson (18 points) hit another 3-pointer and Beal (12 points) knocked down a step back jumper.
Andrews opened the fourth with a basket to tie the score at 30-30 before Clausen ripped off three straight Huntley hoops, capped by a runner of the glass.
Markyia Williams-Miles completed a 3-point play to pull Rock Island within 36-35 with 1:10 left, but Huntley held the ball for nearly a minute before Barreto was fouled.
"This game boiled down to toughness on both ends down the stretch," Raethz said.
In the semifinals, Huntley came up with one more big run than Rockford Lutheran in a back-and-forth game.
The Crusaders, who entered the game 20-0, rallied from 12 points down to take their only lead of the game at 26-24 in the third quarter.
Huntley answered with an 11-2 run to end the quarter, capped by consecutive 3-pointers from Andrews and Alexis Nowitzki, then relied on stout defense in the fourth to come away with the win.
Andrews dominated inside with 24 points and 10 rebounds while Clausen contributed 12 points and 10 rebounds. Her clutch 3-pointer from the top with 3:20 left extended their lead to 40-30.
Rockford Lutheran, paced by 11 points from Baillie McGirk and 8 each from Kailyn Strawbridge and Ashlei Lopez, shot just 3-for-28 from 3-point range.
"I thought we we're able to capitalize on the matchups at times and I thought Ali did a good job of finishing, despite the fact at times they had a couple of people on her with double teams," Raethz said.
Huntley broke out to a quick 11-1 lead, but the Crusaders ended the first quarter on a 7-1 run.
The second quarter played out the same as Huntley ran off 10 of the first 11 points, but Rockford Lutheran answered with a 9-0 spurt before an Andrews free throw gave the Red Raiders a 22-18 halftime edge.
"It's been a great two days here and hopefully we can use this as a springboard moving forward." Raethz said.