Huntley pulls away from Cary-Grove
Morgan Clausen saved her best for last.
Clausen, who missed all 13 of her shots during the first three quarters, connected on 4-of-5 shots in the fourth quarter and scored 12 points. Her game-high 15 points propelled Huntley to a 44-28 win over Cary-Grove in Fox Valley Conference girls basketball action in Huntley Tuesday night.
"I was really frustrated during the first three quarters," said Clausen. "Cary-Grove played really tough defense and I was really forcing shots. I got more in the flow in the fourth quarter and made shots and got some confidence."
Despite a 4-for-18 shooting night, Clausen contributed 12 rebounds and 5 assists.
"Morgan really struggled offensively in the first three quarters," said Huntley coach Steve Raethz. "Cary-Grove played her tough and she forced some things. She helped us in other ways and was finally able to get on track offensively in the fourth quarter."
With Katie Sowa scoring 8 points, the Trojans (4-5, 3-1) led 10-6 after 8 minutes of play.
The second quarter proved pivotal for the Red Raiders (3-3, 2-0).
With Missy Moffett canning 3 straight 3-pointers, the Red Raiders started the second quarter on a 9-0 run and led 15-10 with 5:11 left in the half.
"Morgan was really struggling and I knew I had to step up and hit some shots," said Missy Moffett. 'Once I hit the first 3 I felt good."
Holding the Trojans to only 1 field goal and 4 points in the quarter, the Red Raiders held a 5-point 19-14 advantage at intermission.
Up 23-17 after three quarters, the Red Raiders finally broke the game open in the fourth quarter. With Clausen scoring 8 points, along with a basket from Abbey Brown, Huntley scored the first 10 points of the quarter and led 33-17 with 4:22 left in the contest.
The Trojans' first points of the quarter came on a putback by Sowa with 3:44 left in the game to make the score 33-19.
Brown backed Clausen with 10 points, 5 in the fourth quarter. Moffett tallied 9 on three 3-pointers.
During the last three quarters, Cary-Grove made only 5-of-25 shots for 20 percent. Sowa scored only 6 points in the final three quarters and ended with 14.
"I like the way Abbey and Missy stepped up and made some shots while Morgan was struggling,"said Raethz. "Sowa is a very good player and I thought we really defended her well the last three quarters. We guarded well as a team the whole game."
Cary-Grove coach Rod Saffert wasn't happy with his team's performance in the last three quarters.
"We played one good quarter," said Saffert. "We got away from the script and took silly shots."