Girls basketball: Hobday’s overtime 3 sends Huntley past Crystal Lake South in battle for 1st place in FVC

A confident, free-shooting Alyssa Borzych is somebody Huntley‘s Lana Hobday is always happy to find.

“I think she has her confidence back with her shooting, and she’s my favorite person to pass to when I get on the court,” Hobday said of Borzych, who earlier this week set a career high with 30 points against Crystal Lake Central. “I’m always ready to look for her.”

Hobday’s confidence, too, is certainly rising after Friday’s Fox Valley Conference battle with Crystal Lake South.

The junior guard drilled a clutch 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter, and she topped that with a momentum-swinging 3 in overtime as the Red Raiders held on for a 48-43 victory over the Gators to retain sole possession of first place in the conference.

Hobday finished with eight points and four steals, Borzych had 13 points and three 3s, and Aubrina Adamik recorded a game-high 20 points with five 3s as Huntley moved to 17-8 overall and 11-1 in the FVC.

Hobday jumped up and down and pumped her right fist as her 3 swished through the net.

“It was exciting,” said Hobday, whose 3 a few steps behind the right wing gave Huntley a 44-41 lead with 1:20 left in OT. “I was really happy. Student section was talking and (I) just had to hit a 3 to quiet them down a bit.

“We were confident. It was more just lay your heart out and empty the tank.”

Adamik, a senior guard, hit 4 of 6 free throws in OT to help down the Gators, who fell to 18-5 and 9-3 in the FVC.

South earlier this year handed Huntley a 47-45 loss, still the Raiders’ only loss in FVC play. Huntley is now a staggering 80-3 in conference play since the start of the 2021-22 season.

Huntley led 32-30 going into the fourth quarter, but South, led by senior guard and Saint Xavier University commit Laken LePage, refused to back down. LePage (game-high 20 points, eight rebounds) hit one of her four 3s in the quarter. Junior Makena Cleary hit her only 3 to tie the game at 36-36 with 3:32 remaining, and after a 3 by Hobday, Gaby Dzik (12 points) followed with her third 3 of the game to tie the score at 39 with 1:42 to go.

The teams went scoreless over the final 1:42 of the quarter with a set-play with 11.9 seconds on the clock coming up empty for Huntley on a desperation 3 by Evie Freundt (seven points, six rebounds, three blocks) at the buzzer.

Bodies on both sides continuously hit the deck throughout Friday’s FVC tilt.

“Going into this we knew it was going to be a battle, we knew we were going to go back and forth, said Borzych, who added a block. ”But at the end of the day, we we just had to keep pushing. We knew they wanted it as bad as we did, but I think we wanted it a little more.

“I trust all my teammates. All my teammates came out and did the job. Got that last stop.”

Borzych, who got varsity minutes as a freshman, has provided the Raiders with another big scoring threat this year as a junior. Her offensive game is starting to take off at the right time.

“She’s playing with a ton of confidence right now, and it’s great to see,” Huntley coach Steve Raethz said of Borzych, who held a follow-through pose on her second of two 3s in the third quarter. “It’s been great to see her development over the past three years, not only skill wise, but mentally, too. She plays within herself, plays incredibly hard on both ends.”

LePage had a brief injury scare in the second quarter after ensuing possessions saw Hobday and LePage take hard falls to the court. LePage stayed down and needed help walking off the court. She ended up coming back in the game, giving the Gators a 16-14 lead on a 3 with 2:45 left until half.

“I’m sitting there on the bench and my ankle’s blown up, and I’m like, ‘Pain or no pain, I want to play,’ ” LePage said. “This is my last time playing Huntley. I was just trying to contain myself, not go over the limit and do too much. I looked for my shot and tried all I could do, really.”

LePage and Dzik, a sophomore wing, scored 32 of South’s 41 points Friday.

South is trying to win its first conference title in 17 years. Huntley is going for its fifth in a row.

“Any time you play Huntley, you’re up for it,” Gators coach Mark Mucha said. “That’s why we’re here, especially on Friday nights, to have competitive games. There’s not many weaknesses to their defense. We try to crack it any way, it seems like they have a kid there or an answer to it.”