Johnsburg knocks off Huntley in first-place battle

Posted February 13, 2009 10:00 pm

By Dave Hess Daily Herald Correspondent

The equation was simple.

A Huntley win would give the Red Raiders a slice of the Fox Valley Conference Fox Division championship.

No need to order extra hardware. Johnsburg made sure of that.

The Skyhawks, riding a crucial 10-0 run midway through the first quarter, pummeled Huntley 55-28 in a battle for first place in Huntley Friday.

Johnsburg, which lost at Huntley the previous 2 seasons, wins the FVC Fox Division with a perfect 10-0 mark while Huntley is the runner-up at 8-2.

"We really didn't mention the fact that Huntley beat us here the last two years, but the girls were aware of it," said Johnsburg coach Mike Toussaint. "They really wanted to beat Huntley. Our press was very aggressive and we were aggressive on the ball. We forced an up-tempo game and got easy baskets."

Led by a pair of 3-pointers from Kadie Lowery Huntley (16-11) jumped out to 7-6 lead.

Then, Johnsburg increased the heat on its full-court press and reeled off 11 straight points courtesy of 5 Huntley turnovers which were converted into 5 layups. Danielle Slivka had 3 layups, Megan Lopez converted an easy shot and Heather Miller had a conventional 3-point play as the Skyhawks turned a 1-point deficit into a 10-point 17-7 advantage with 2:44 left in the first quarter.

"Johnsburg really upped the intensity on defense in the first quarter and we didn't handle it very well," said Huntley coach Steve Raethz. "We got discombobulated and everything snowballed. The kids had a chance to play in a big game environment and we were disappointed we didn't play better. Give Johnsburg credit. They were too fast for us."

Johnsburg (23-7), which led 23-9 after one quarter and 32-14 at halftime, committed only 9 turnovers on the night and made 21-of-33 shots for 63 percent.

Huntley, which committed 24 turnovers, made only 11-of-46 shots for 24 percent.

Melissa Dixon led Johnsburg with 16 points. Slivka scored 14 and Miller 10.

Senior Allyson Stellmach, playing in her last home game, led the Red Raiders with 8 points and 9 rebounds.

Article Comments

Article Comments

Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.