Huntley keeps rolling along in the FVC Valley
Death, taxes and the Huntley girls basketball team winning Fox Valley Conference Valley Division games.
All seem to be certainties.
Notching their 29th consecutive division win, the Red Raiders outscored Crystal Lake South 36-18 in the second half and posted a 60-46 win in Crystal Lake Wednesday night.
"South played an incredible first half and we knew we were in a tough game," said Huntley coach Steve Raethz. "We upped the defensive intensity in the second half and responded by forcing turnovers and getting easy baskets."
It was the Gators who set the tone in the game during the first half, connecting on 9 of their first 10 shots. Crystal Lake South (17-8, 5-2) led by 6, 21-15, with 3:23 left in the first half. Chanel Fanter scored 10 points and Taylor Jozefowicz tallied 9 during the Gators' early surge.
South led 28-24 at halftime.
Kayla Barreto, who was plagued by fouls in the first half, keyed the Red Raiders' comeback in the third quarter. The senior guard, a 4-year starter, scored 10 points including two 3-pointers in the quarter.
Barreto's sizzling shooting helped Huntley (22-3, 7-0), winners of 10 straight games, outscore the Gators 20-12 in third quarter. The Red Raiders took a 4-point, 44-40 lead after 24 minutes.
'We knew this would be a tough game," said Barreto. "South played a great game and I knew I had to knock down some shots. I hit the first shot and that gave me a lot of confidence. We came out and played much better defense in the second half.''
Huntley seized control of the game by scoring the first 8 points of the fourth quarter. A putback from Morgan Clausen gave the Red Raiders a 52-40 lead with 6:20 remaining.
The Gators didn't quit and scored 5 straight points courtesy of a trey by Jozefowicz and 2 free throws from Annika Sevcik to the cut the deficit to 52-45 with 4;22 remaining.
The Gators couldn't get any closer.
Ali Andrews led Huntley with 22 points. Clausen added 17 and Barreto scored 11, all in the second half.
Jozefowicz, with 3 treys, led South with 20 points while Fanter scored 16.
"I liked the way we bounced back from Saturday's loss to Cary-Grove," said Crystal Lake South coach Mark Mucha. "The first half was a lot of fun. Their pressure really got to us in the second half."