Cary-Grove clinches FVC Valley crown
Who needs practice? It certainly looked Friday night as if the Cary-Grove girls basketball team doesn't need much.
The Trojans had not practiced in three days thanks to the weather and school closings, but they showed no rust against Huntley.
Cary-Grove scored the first 16 points of the game in less than 5 minutes and cruised to a 59-18 victory over the host Red Raiders.
"I joked with them that we're never practicing again before a game," Trojans coach Rod Saffert said. "We didn't get to practice for three days. We weren't allowed to get in the gym.
"I've never seen anything like that in my life. From start to finish, they did not let up."
The victory clinches the Fox Valley Conference Valley Division championship for the Trojans (22-3, 9-0). They have won outright or shared the Valley title three of the last four seasons.
"It was one of our goals," said Cary-Grove senior Claire Jakubicek, who scored the game's first 7 points and finished with a game-high 18. "I feel like, as a team, we have come a long way this season. It's a great accomplishment. It's a good way to end my senior year."
Jakubicek scored on a second opportunity after a Joslyn Nicholson offensive rebound 50 seconds into the game. Then back-to-back steals led to a Jakubicek 3-pointer and a layup to give the Trojans a 7-0 lead just 1:32 into the first quarter. The lead increased to 16-0 after a Megan Straumann 3-pointer with 3:08 remaining in the first quarter.
Huntley (15-7, 7-2) finally scored on a Kadie Lowery basket with 2:45 left in the first. But the Red Raiders trailed 18-2 after the opening quarter. They were 1-for-9 from the floor and committed 6 turnovers. The Trojans went 8-for-11.
"It wasn't the way we anticipated playing tonight," Huntley coach Steve Raethz said. "The expectations that we had coming into this, I'm really disappointed with the effort."
In the team's first meeting on Jan. 12, the Trojans had to rally for a 58-52 victory. Cary-Grove wasn't going to have the same sort of drama Friday.
The Trojans increased their lead to 39-10 at halftime and 47-12 after three quarters.
Straumann finished with 12 points for Cary-Grove. Paige Lincicum added 10 points.
Kelsey Seitz led Huntley with 5 points, all in the fourth.
Huntley leading scorer and starting point guard Carly Goede returned after missing nearly two weeks with an ankle injury. The senior entered with 4:24 left in the first quarter, but tweaked the injury in the final seconds of quarter and did not return.