Huntley scores big win at showcase event

Huntley girls basketball coach Steve Raethz has stressed defense during his 17-year tenure at the school.

Raethz's team definitely showed that Saturday night.

Holding Kenosha St. Joseph, one of the top teams in Wisconsin to 44 points, the Red Raiders were able to produce enough offense in a 53-44 win at the Second Annual Chicagoland Invitational Showcase held at Fremd High School in Palatine.

"Our team defense was outstanding for 32 minutes," said Raethz. "We put them in difficult spots to score and we did a great job of contesting their shots. We needed to get pushed for 32 minutes and we did by an outstanding St. Joseph's team. The girls did a great job of responding with a great effort."

St. Joe's standout junior Sidney Cooks, the No. 2 ranked junior forward in the country by espn.com who is being recruited heavily by major Division I programs, did manage 21 points but was only 7-of-20 from the floor and misfired on all 5 shots from 3-point range.

"Cooks is a tremendous talent but Ali (Andrews) did a great job on her," said Raethz. "She earned every point she got."

Andrews was not only terrific at the defensive end, but scored 23 points with 4 assists and 8 rebounds in playing all 32 minutes.

"I am a little tired but it was a fun game to be in," said Andrews, the Illinois signee who is now just 19 points shy of 2,000 for her career. "I play on the same travel team as Sidney (Midwest Elite) so it was a challenge. She is a great player. This was a great team win. Everybody contributed."

Huntley (8-0), which made all 12 of its free throws, also got 12 points from Morgan Clausen and 8 from Paige Renkosik.

The Red Raiders utilized a quick start and held their biggest lead of the game at 18-7 after a 15-footer in the lane from Clausen with 6:22 remaining before intermission.

The Lancers whittled away at the Red Raider lead and were down only 26-23 after a layup from Jalah Harris to beat the halftime buzzer.

St. Joseph was able to climb to within 2, 42-40, after a layup by Harris with 2:33 left but couldn't get any closer,

Huntley sealed the win with a 6-0 run on baskets by Kayla Barreto, Alexis Lowitzki and Andrews to lead 48-40 with 1:22 remaining.

Harris backed Cooks for the Lancers with 15 points.

"St. Joseph's made a run at us but we maintained our composure," said Raethz. "We were patient and finished strong."