Girls basketball: Fisher’s double-double helps Libertyville deny Huntley’s upset bid

For a brief moment, Huntley appeared primed for the upset.

Taking on No. 1 seed Libertyville during Tuesday’s IHSA Class 4A sectional semifinal at Rockford Guilford, senior guard Aubrina Adamik drove inside for a go-ahead layup to give the No. 2 seeded Red Raiders a 34-33 advantage with 3:30 remaining in the fourth quarter.

It would be the second-to-last field goal of Huntley’s season, as the Wildcats overcame a lengthy scoring drought and went on a 9-0 run in the game’s final minutes. Despite a buzzer-beating triple from Adamik, who led the Red Raiders with 12 points, Libertyville held on for a 42-37 victory in an intense semifinal matchup.

“Libertyville is a great team and I think we held our own,” Adamik said.

The Wildcats (27-6) will advance and face either Carmel, a 40-39 winner over Hononegah, for the sectional title Thursday. Junior guard Lily Fisher recorded 18 points and 10 rebounds to lead Libertyville, which held Huntley (24-10) without a field goal for about the first six minutes until Avery Suess made a cutting layup on an Adamik bounce pass.

The game was tied 6-6 entering the second quarter, when Libertyville’s Ella Pawelczyk sprinted down the floor and made a transition layup off a Red Raider miss to spark a 6-0 Wildcat run.

A mid-range jumper from Adamik at the 3:26 mark of the quarter quelled a long scoreless run for the Red Raiders. Huntley brought the Wildcats back within five after sophomore Evie Freundt found a cutting Luca Garlin for a layup to make the score 17-12. Freundt finished with 11 points, five rebounds and six made free throws.

“We knew going into this game that everybody needed to do their part because they have a Division I prospect in [Lily] Fisher,” Huntley coach Steve Raethz said. “They space the floor incredibly well so they present some difficult matchups with what they do offensively.”

Libertyville led 19-14 at halftime and 31-28 after three quarters.