Boylan shoots down Huntley in sectional semifinal
The Huntley girls basketball team entered Monday night's Class 4A sectional semifinal at Jacobs feeling more confident than ever.
Facing the No. 1 seed in Rockford Boylan, the Red Raiders knew confidence would be a key.
Unfortunately, after going shot-for-shot with the Titans in the first eight minutes, a second-quarter collapse was more than the Red Raiders could overcome as they suffered a 65-42 season-ending loss.
Scoring came early and often in this one.
Huntley took a 6-2 lead in the first five minutes, but the Titans answered back to go up 12-8 with 30 seconds remaining in the opening quarter. With 11 seconds on the clock, Sammy Oslance connected from behind the arc to bring the Red Raiders within a point at 12-11 going into the second quarter.
Enter Kierra Valentine (8 points) for Boylan. She came off the bench, collected 5 second-quarter swipes, scored on three of them and led the Titans on a 23-2 run. Outscoring Huntley 26-4 in the second quarter, Boylan took a 38-15 lead into the break.
Down 25 points following 17 first half turnovers, the Red Raiders (18-12) refused to quit.
Converting 3 times from long distance, Huntley cut the deficit to 12 points closing the third quarter with a 14-2 run of its own to make it a game again at 44-32.
Kadie Lowery helped the Huntley cause scoring 8 third-quarter points before finishing the game with 12 points.
"The second quarter got away from us," said Huntley coach Steve Raethz. "We did a nice job getting into a flow in the first, but the second quarter was a lot of errors on our part. It really snowballed on us."
Senior Allyson Stellmach hit the boards hard all night recording a double-double with 10 points and a dozen rebounds.
"We really picked up our play in the postseason, and it is sad to know that it's all over," Stellmach said. "Still, being a part of this team has been great.
"I'm very proud of the team and everything we accomplished."
Hillary Johnson and Oslance each added 6 points for Huntley, while Megan Martinez and Carly Goede contributed defensively with 3 steals each.
"We talked at the half about not giving in," said Raethz. "I was pleased to see our girls rally back and not quit, and I cannot say enough about our four graduating seniors.
"Unfortunately, you dig yourself into a hole that big against a good team like Boylan, it's tough to battle back."
With 23 points, Brea Edwards led the Titans, who have scored more than 65 points 22 times this year en route to a 30-1 record.
"The girls should be proud of the commitment they gave to this program," Raethz said. "They came in with the right mindset, expected to compete and they have nothing to be ashamed of.
"Nobody can take three consecutive regional titles away from them."