Bartlett holds off Huntley
When Huntley started to put the pressure on Bartlett's post players, the Hawks went outside.
When the Red Raiders' tried to defend the perimeter, Bartlett pounded the ball down low.
The balance gave the Hawks' a 55-41 home victory in the girls basketball season opener for both teams Tuesday night. Bartlett got a combined 27 points from seniors Kristin Conniff (18 points) and Haley Videckis (19 points) in the win.
"The key with our team is we have a lot of diverse players that can play inside and outside," said Videckis, who nailed three 3-pointers. "That's tough to guard. We knew there was going to be a lot of heavy pressure on the ball."
When Huntley was able to apply enough pressure, especially in the post, the Red Raiders were able to hang right with the Hawks. After trailing 17-7 in the final minute of the first quarter, Huntley went on a 10-0 run to tie things with 6 minutes left after an offensive putback form sophomore Sam Andrews (12 points, 7 rebounds).
Although never leading in the game, Huntley stayed within 4 points of the Hawks for the rest of the second quarter until Bartlett's Katie Gutzwiller caught fire.
The senior scored 4 points in the final 37 seconds of the half to extend Bartlett's lead to 28-21 at halftime.
Gutzwiller (10 points, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks) scored off an offensive rebound and then a layup with 14 seconds left. She scored 6 of Bartlett's 11 second-quarter points.
"They're a really solid team at all spots," Red Raiders' coach Steve Raethz said. "For a stretch there we did some real positive things to tie the game. (Bartlett) amped up their pressure in the third quarter. We made too many mental mistakes."
Bartlett, ranked No. 7 in The Associated Press Class 4A preseason statewide poll released Tuesday, came out in the second half outscoring Huntley 15-8. Videckis scored 9 points in the period.
The senior popped her third steal of the game and ran the floor for a layup with 3:11 left in the third period. She would then nail a 3-pointer off a pass from Gutzwiller.
Another Huntley turnover led to Ashley Johnson hooking up with Videckis under the basket and the Hawks going up 40-27.
Conniff (3 steals, 2 assists) hit another 3-pointer with 18 seconds left extending the lead to 43-29.
"Haley and (Conniff) had good scoring nights tonight," Bartlett coach Denise Sarna said. "Katie Gutzwiller helped out around the basket. Both teams battled hard. Huntley has a solid scrappy defense."
Senior Lisa Palmer finished with 4 of the Hawks' 7 blocks in the game.
Girls basketball
Barrington 57, Jacobs 29: Amy Baker and Lauren Grady scored 8 points each for Jacobs in this season-opening nonconference loss. Jessica Tennant added 7 points for the Golden Eagles.
Women's basketball
Judson 72, Rockford 48: Karen Senette had a career-high 22 points to lead Judson to its first win of the season. Shaniqua Roberts and Riquel Butler each had 13 points for the Eagles and Hailey Cnota added 12.
Men's soccer
Judson to host NCCAA regional: The Judson University men's soccer team, which has advanced to the past two NCCAA national tournaments, will look to make it three in a row Saturday when the Eagles host Trinity Christian at 1:30 p.m. in the North Central Regional championship game. The winner advances to the NCCAA national finals in Florida. Judson will take a 13-8 record into Saturday's game.