Girls basketball: Maine South ekes out win, gets revenge vs. Huntley to reach Komaromy semifinals

When the game was on the line, Addie Kopf was on the free throw line.

And things lined up just right for the Maine South senior.

The 5-foot-9 forward converted the two free throws that tied the game at 43-43 and then the two that gave her team the lead over Huntley at 45-43 with 1:31 left in Saturday's penultimate quarterfinal of the 42nd annual Komaromy Classic at Dundee-Crown High School.

The Hawks (11-2) held on for a 48-46 triumph to advance to Monday's semifinal against St. Charles North (11-1) at 8 p.m.

Kopf was on last year's team that lost to Huntley 49-48 in the title game at D-C.

"Everyone was upset with that loss," Kopf said. "We really wanted this one. The returning players were especially pumped up to play them again."

Kopf played one of her finest quarters in high school, scoring 9 of her 11 points in the decisive period.

"Addie is just a solid basketball player, a rock out there," said Hawks coach Jeff Hamann, whose team won the tourney in 2022 and 2023. "Obviously she made some key free throws late in the fourth and hit a big layup."

That layup came right after Theresa Sladky grabbed a key rebound on Huntley's next possession and then assisted Kopf with a beautiful pass. Kopf went in strong for the layup that made it 47-43 with 45.4 seconds.

Hayden's Fay's free throw with 15.8 seconds increased it 48-43 before a 3-pointer by Alyssa Borzych (10 points all in the second half, 4 rebounds) with five seconds left accounted for the final final score.

Huntley took a 43-38 lead with 4:50 left in the game when Evelyn Freundt (8 points, 14 rebounds) drove to the basket on a fastbreak and made a beautiful fake pass and swept in for the layup.

"We were able to extend the lead to 5 there but then we had a few empty possessions which kind of hurt us," said Red Raiders coach Steve Raethz. "We had some turnovers and Maine South was able to capitalize but I thought our kids never quit the whole game. They showed all-out toughness and grit. I'm just really proud of their effort."

With the score tied 2-2, Maine South closed out the first period with a 9-3 run, beginning with a 3-pointer from Emily Currey (11 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assist, 2 steals) and ending with 2 free throws by Kopf.

Lana Hobday's 3-pointer got Huntley to within 11-5 after one quarter.

The Hawks extended their lead to 20-9 following a layup by Avery Suess (5 points) and Sladky's 3-pointer off a steal from Currey with 4:48 left until intermission.

Sladky finished with 6 points 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.

"She came off the bench and hit a couple of big 3's in the second quarter," Hamann said. "And she made that great pass to Addie in that big moment for us. We were able to pay 10 kids and that gives us opportunities to see who is feeling it. In that regard, Sladky really gave us some good minutes and to her credit and to her teammates' credit, they all believe in each other. We all believe in each other, it's a fun group.“

A 6-0 run featuring 2 free throws and a 3-pointer by Aubrina Adamik, and a free throw by Hobday (8 points, 2 assist), made it 20-15.

The Red Raiders got to within 22-18 on a 3-pointer by Luca Garlin (10 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists). Three free throws by Amelia Fernandez (5 points) made it 25-18 before 2 free throws by Evelyn Freundt cut it to 25-20 at the half.

A 3-pointer by Fahy (10 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists) gave MS a 28-22 lead. But Huntley charged back and took its first lead of the game when Borzych hit a 6-footer with 3:55 left in the third period to make it 29-28.

A steal and layup by Adamik (5 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists) put Huntley ahead 33-28 before Phoebe O'Shea's 3-pointer got the Hawks to within 33-31 heading into the final quarter.

"It was a great game," Raethz said. "I loved how our team competed, I thought our kids played incredibly hard. That's (Maine South) a really well-coached team and a good Maine South team and I thought it was a well-played game by both teams."

St. Charles North 56, Hononegah 47: Sydney Johnson scored a game-high 20 points and Lelanie Posada added a season-high 19 to lift the North Stars (11-1) to the semifinals. Aubrey Evanoff contributed 7 and Brianna Buono 6.

Lake Park 47, Mundelein 29: Allie Gogola (23 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds) and Maggie Frank (18 points) led Lake Park (13-1) which advanced to Monday's 6:30 p.m. semifinal against Naperville Central (11-2). Casey Vyverman led Mundelein with 15 points while Madelyn Gardner chipped in 7.

Naperville Central 56, Fenwick 46: Erin Hacket scored 34 points with seven 3-pointers to lead the Redhawks (11-2) while Annabelle Kritzer chipped in 14 with 19 rebounds as NC advanced to the semifinals vs. Lake Park. Sophia Cochran had 5 points, 4 steals and 2 assists for NC.

Stevenson 47, Maine West 41: Reese McLelland 14 points), Alexa Karcz (8) and Leila Markicic (7) led the Patriots (3-9) who received 6 rebounds from Karcz and 4 steals from Grace Harper (6 points).

The Warriors (7-5) were led by Alyssa Phillip (12) and Ava Roback (7). Marainana Espinoxza had 4 assists and 2 steals for West while Roback pulled down 9 rebounds.

Buffalo Grove 61, Hampshire 46: Annie Sadowski (13 points), Kayla Daugard (13) Hannah Weber (12 points 14 rebounds) led BG (8-5) which also received 7 points apiece 8 points from Litsa Katravitis and 7 from Olivia Hill.

Mikala Amegasse (22 points) and Jiselle Lopez (15) paced Hampshire (6-8).

Barrington 63, South Elgin 20: The Fillies (4-8) received 11 points apiece from Lilly Richmond (5 rebounds) and Mel Bongiomo while Isla Koertner had 10 points and 7 rebounds. Simra Alam also had 5 rebounds.

Hope Nelons led South Elgin (7-8) with 8 points.

Lake Forest 42, Dundee-Crown 22: The host Chargers (1-10) were led by Kate Graham and Emily Guyon with 8 points each.