Huntley's late surge too much for Mundelein

When you're hot, your hot.

Huntley's girls basketball team picked a great time to heat up, doing so in the final quarter Tuesday night at Mundelein to break its five-game losing streak.

The Red Raiders shot an astounding 8 of 9 from the field and outscored Mundelein 12-2 over the last four minutes to pull out a 51-48 victory on the final day of pool play in the Lady Mustangs Holiday Classic.

"The kids came out with a sense of purpose and I'm pleased with the effort down the stretch," said Huntley coach Steve Raethz, whose team was down seven with four minutes left.

"The kids came up with stops at the defensive end and executed with hit some big shots at the offensive end."

During the Red Raiders' finishing run, Cecilia Tsevas (12 points) hit back-to-back jumpers to put Huntley (5-7, 1-2) up 47-46 with 1:47 left.

"I just kept focused and wanted to knock the shots down," Tsevas said.

Mundelein (7-8, 1-2) briefly got back the lead when Megan Woit (9 points) made a couple of free throws for a 48-47 advantage with 1:38 remaining.

The Red Raiders responded with a layup by Carly Goede (13 points). Amanda Wisniewski (13 points) sank a pair of free throws in the final 13 seconds.

"I had some nerves, but I took a couple deep breaths," Wisniewski said of the clutch free throws.

"I just relaxed and knew I could make them."

Mundelein had one last chance to tie but sent an errant three-point shot off the mark.

"We just stopped and played not to lose," Mundelein coach Brian Evans said. "(Huntley) attacked the basket and they were the ones taking the shots. You don't win games doing that. Huntley was the aggressor. Our shot selection was bad, but mostly our defense was passive."

Mundelein will play Belvidere at 10:30 a.m. today, and Huntley will face Rolling Meadows at 1:30 p.m.

- Rusty Silber

Hoffman Estates 56, Grant 36: Hoffman Estates showed no ill effects from its 4-point overtime loss to Rockford Auburn that happened Monday at the Mundelein Holiday Classic.

The Hawks rebounded Tuesday, blitzing Grant to take a 24-4 lead entering the second quarter and cruising to a 56-36 victory.

The Hawks (10-4) finished 2-1 in pool play and advanced to play Mid Suburban League West foe Conant at 3:30 p.m. today in semifinal matchup for second place.

Hoffman will face Conant for the second time in less than a week - the Hawks defeated the Cougars 40-31 on Friday.

Grant will play Vernon Hills in a third-place semifinal at noon today.

Grant (6-8) took a brief 4-2 advantage, but Hoffman closed the first quarter with a devastating 22-0 run to take command.

"That's the whole thing about today, we wanted to get back into the swing of things," said Hawks coach Mike Nocella after the tough loss Monday. "We've lost four games this season and all of them have been close."

This one wasn't close as junior Jada Stotts scored 12 of her 16 points in the opening quarter, connecting on three 3 pointers.

The torrid outside shooting opened the door underneath for 5-foot-10 junior Precious Ogunleye, who scored 8 of her 12 points in the opening eight minutes.

"We spread it out a lot," Stotts said. "When we get the ball we look in first. If Precious is not open, then most likely we have a shot outside."

The Hawks also did it on defense, with sophomore guard Mary Pettit, senior guard Kelsey Lukowicz and senior forward Mary Bernardoni helping limit Grant to 17-percent (3-for-17) shooting in the first half to take a 31-10 lead at intermission.

Heather Chapman had paced Grant in its first two games at Mundelein, scoring 15 and 18 points, but Ogunleye held the 6-foot senior to 6 points.

"We like to stay low," Stotts said about the Hawks' zone defense. "To have a good zone you have to communicate, and we're doing a real good job of talking and watching the baseline."

The Hawks increased their lead to 25 points in the third quarter and entered the final quarter with a 45-21 advantage.

Grant junior Donnie Taggart scored 8 of her game-high 18 points in the final quarter, but the Bulldogs came no closer than 15 points.

"They shot the ball real well and we didn't," said Grant coach John Eiduke. "They got off to a big lead and we never got back in it."

- Michael Eaken

Libertyville 59, Glenbrook North 34: At Mundelein, Savannah Trees scored 16 points (two 3-pointers) and Alex Haley added 13 for the Wildcats, who improved to 3-0 in the Lady Mustangs Holiday Classic.

Katelynn Jennings scored 9 points on three 3-pointers for Libertyville (11-4). The Wildcats blew open the game by outscoring the Spartans 26-7 in the third quarter.

Conant 55, Vernon Hills 26: At Mundelein, Vernon Hills lost its second game in as many days.

Meri Bennett-Swanson scored 19 points to lead Vernon Hills (10-3).

Conant's Kim Davis led all scorers with 20 points, making four 3-pointers.