Girls basketball: Huntley comes from behind in 4th quarter to beat Prospect, stay unbeaten

With its undefeated season on the line against host Prospect, Huntley's girls basketball team was coming off its closest call of the season, a 1-point win over Maine South in the title game of the Komaromy Classic at Dundee-Crown High School on Dec. 30.

"Our coaches talked to us about how hard it was going to be to come back from a game like that and to be able to compete like that again," said Kent State pledge Anna Campanelli. "I feel our team has been really disciplined this season and we want it for each other and that's been real successful for us."

It was another successful outcome on Saturday at the Forest View Education Center in Arlington Heights as Campanelli (game-high 18 points) and the Class 4A No. 10 ranked Red Raiders (15-0) survived another close game with a 55-51 triumph over the 4A No. 13 Knights (12-4).

Prospect built its biggest lead at 33-26 after 2 free throws by sophomore Maeve Johl with 1:37 left in the third quarter.

However, the Red Raiders, taking advantage of 3 turnovers, went on an 11-0 to close out the quarter.

It started with a 3-pointer by senio Ava McFadden (12 points, four 3-pointers) , followed by a steal and layup by junior Luca Garlin (13 points, three 3-pointers) and 3-pointers from Lana Hobday and Campanelli at the buzzer to give Huntley a 37-33 lead.

Prospect came back to take a 41-37 lead, thanks to one of three 3-pointers in the second half by 5-foot-10 senior Gina Falls (11 points).

But the never-say-quit Red Raiders rallied again.

Campanelli and Garlin went back-to-back from long distance to put the visitors in front 42-41 lead with 6:07 left in the game.

When Alli Like found Colleen Shute for a layup, the Knights were back in front 51-47 with 3:59 left.

But Huntley pitched an 8-0 run to close out the game, getting back-to-back 3-pointers from Garlin and Campanelli, the second one giving the Red Raiders a 53-51 lead with 2:35 left.

Garlin added 2 free throws in the final 36 seconds and the Huntley defense came up with two turnovers to seal the win.

"It was crazy," Campanelli said. "We had a lot of people contribute. I feel we pushed the ball to get up the floor and we stayed disciplined on defense. That really helped us in the long run."

Sophomore Zoe Black, who had back-to-back 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, led Prospect with 16 points. Linke finished with 13 points while Falls had 11.

"I think we need to stay calmer at the end of the game," Falls said. "We did well at that the whole game until then. We did not protect the ball and get good shots. We just need to work better on defense. I feel our communication was good. We just need to stop the 3s."

Johl's big drive between defenders for a layup gave the Knights a 14-12 lead after one quarter.

Prospect held the lead all the way until 1:39 when a free throw by Campanelli tied the game at 20-20. A fastbreak layup by Campanelli gave Huntley a 22-20 lead at intermission.

"I loved the way our kids responded in the first half and the way they finished out in the second quarter," said Huntley hall of fame coach Steve Raethz. "The third quarter didn't go as well as we wanted it to. But my gosh, the kids came out of our timeout (down 33-26) and did a great job digging. They showed a lot of resiliency. They made some baskets on the offensive end and were able to come up with some big stops on defense. I'm really proud of them.

"The kids played great today. It was a great high school basketball game. Definitely a game of runs. It was a really great effort and Prospect is a great team. They've got some great players and they are well coached. We were excited for this opportunity to play them."

Prospect coach Matt Weber praised the Red Raiders, who connected for a season-high 11 3-pointers.

"Credit Huntley," Weber said. "It seemed like every time we went on a run, they would respond. But credit our girls. They fought back. And credit Huntley. They fought back and that's kind of been their MO all season. They do a great job of putting pressure on you at the half court and we struggled with that at times. At this time of the season when you play teams like Huntley, you want to learn from your mistakes and how to get better in situations to reach your goals at the end of the season."

So far, Raethz likes what he sees this season.

"I'm just really pleased with how things have gone in the first half," he said. "Obviously the challenge is to continue to play hard and keep it rolling."