Girls basketball: LePage lifts Crystal Lake South past Huntley in key Fox Valley Conference battle

Crystal Lake South senior guard Laken LePage and her Gators teammates weren’t able to generate much offensively against Huntley in the third quarter on Tuesday.

That didn’t sit well with the Gators.

“Coach said that’s not acceptable,” said LePage, whose team was 1-of-11 shooting in the third quarter. “We were taking possessions off and turning the ball over, so it was all or nothing.

“It’s either you score or you lose. Someone had to step up.”

LePage stepped up in a big way, scoring 10 of her game-high 25 points in the final quarter as the Gators picked up a 47-45 victory over the Red Raiders in a key early-season Fox Valley Conference battle in Huntley.

It was Huntley’s first FVC loss since Jan. 19, 2024. Last year’s Raiders went 18-0 in the FVC to claim its fourth straight conference title, so Tuesday’s win for South (6-1, 3-0 FVC) was significant.

“This is definitely a game that’s been circled on our calendar,” Gators coach Mark Mucha said. “We’ve done a lot of things since the offseason to try and prepare for our conference season because it’s always a battle especially with Huntley being at the top for so many years. This year, we were excited for it. We embraced the challenge, rather than be intimidated by it.”

After Huntley’s defense held South to only four points in the third quarter to take a 38-32 lead into the fourth, the FVC rivals exchanged leads five times over the final eight minutes.

LePage had a steal and 10-foot jumper to put South up 39-38 with four minutes left before Huntley sophomore forward Evie Freundt (14 points, eight rebounds) answered with a putback on the other end.

Gracey LePage, Laken’s junior sister, then made a big 3 with just over two minutes remaining to put South back on top. But Huntley junior Alyssa Borzych (seven points) made a 3 for the Raiders (5-3, 2-1), giving them a 45-44 lead with 35 seconds left.

Laken LePage, who was 3 of 5 from the field in the fourth quarter, also adding 4 of 6 free throws, answered for South’s last lead with a drive and score with 25.8 seconds left.

“She’s one that just rises to the challenge,” Mucha said of Laken LePage, a St. Xavier University commit. “She works so hard when no one’s looking - just for opportunities like this. And it showed tonight.”

With 13.7 seconds remaining, Gracey LePage hit 1 of 2 free throws for a 47-45 lead after South’s Tessa Melhuish (three points, seven rebounds) helped force a Huntley turnover on the other end by forcing her defensive assignment into the corner. Then, with 2.6 seconds remaining, a desperation 3 from Borzych at half-court missed wide.

Mucha praised Melhuish’s all-out effort.

“She’s such a hard worker. She doesn’t show up much point wise, but she always leads our team in rebounds and is the first one to dive on the floor for a loose ball,” Mucha said. “She’s defending their biggest, strongest kid always. She’s just a very important part of what we do.”

Gracey LePage finished with eight points for South, and sophomore Gaby Dzik had seven.

Senior Luca Garlin was second on the Raiders with 13 points, including three first-quarter 3s. Senior Aubrina Adamik added 11 points and two 3s, while Borzych had seven points, including the go-ahead 3.

“I’ve got to give Alyssa Borzych a ton of credit for having the courage to step up and knock down a huge 3 for us to put us up with under 30 (seconds) to go,” Raethz said. “We just didn’t finish it by coming up with the stop. It’s a tough loss to take at home, but at the same time, it’s something I think we can learn and get better from.”

South has another tough matchup Friday at home against Burlington Central, also 3-0 in the FVC. But the Gators will enjoy their win Tuesday against a Huntley team that recently hasn’t lost many.

“We all just said let’s put it on the floor and let’s give it all the last eight minutes,” Gracey LePage said of the fourth quarter. “I think we wanted it more. We just had more energy.”