Huntley dumps W. Aurora; LZ tops Sabres
Huntley's girls basketball team knocked down shots when it had to, took control of the boards in the second half, and capitalized on 30 West Aurora turnovers, beating the host Blackhawks 55-45 Monday night.
The Warhawk Thanksgiving tournament opener wasn't much to look at, as both teams hit their share of rough spots. But the Red Raiders were able to overcome theirs, and managed to play some of their best basketball down the stretch.
"We didn't play smart in certain segments of the game tonight," Huntley coach Steve Raethz said. "But I'm proud of the way our girls tightened things up defensively and fought back in the second half."
The Red Raiders (1-1) led by 7 after one quarter, but the Blackhawks rallied to take a 24-21 lead at the break, thanks in large part to Kyra Watson's 8 first-half points, all of which were scored in the second quarter.
Still, the Blackhawks looked like a team in search of their rhythm, helped by Huntley's 5 of 21 shooting from the free-throw line in the first half.
If they lacked focus in the opening half, the Blackhawks were missing just about everything else in the third quarter. The Blackhawks did not emerge from the locker room until after the warning buzzer, and didn't find their way back into the game until the fourth quarter.
As the fourth quarter began, Huntley held a 32-27 lead and Daisy Jara, who led the Red Raiders with 14 points and 10 rebounds, was determined to keep West Aurora from wrestling away control of the game.
"We needed to tighten it up and just play our game like we do in practice," Jara said.
Turning up the heat inside, the Red Raiders dared West Aurora to score from the perimeter, and the shots just wouldn't drop.
Thanks to its full court press, West Aurora (1-1) got as close as 46-43 with just over a minute to go, but Katie Bergquist (5 steals) helped her teammates keep their composure, and Huntley refused to wilt during an intense final minute.
"We're used to that kind of pressure, we couldn't let ourselves get intimidated," Bergquist said.
The Red Raiders found their touch at the line in the closing minutes, hitting 9 of 15 free throws in the fourth quarter.
Lake Zurich 45, Streamwood 27: If the Lake Zurich girls basketball team didn't have enough condition preparation before the season, the Bears certainly got it at the Dundee-Crown Tournament.
Playing their fourth game in as many days, the Bears showed little fatigue Monday as they blew out Streamwood, 45-27.
"It's tough. We're tired," said Lake Zurich coach Chris Bennett, who thought it was "absolutely" a good thing to play so many games in a short period of time.
The Bears, who open their conference play a week from today against Warren, grabbed the lead 30 seconds into Monday's game and were never threatened. Peggie Parhas hit a 3-pointer and layup a minute apart to help Lake Zurich (4-0) to a 13-1 first-quarter lead.
The lead increased to as much as 26-9, in the second quarter and the Bears took a 26-13 lead into halftime.
Olivia Allen and Lydia Bauer combined for 11 points in the third quarter for Lake Zurich, which led 44-21 heading into the fourth quarter. The Bears were held to 1 point, a Jenna Froehlich free throw, in the fourth as the starters rested.
"We played well in spurts, and in spurts Streamwood did some things that caused us a little bit of trouble," Bennett said.
Though losing by 18 and dropping its fourth consecutive game, Streamwood coach George Rosner called it "the best game" the Sabres had played.
"We played a lot better basketball today," Rosner said. "We didn't turn it over as often. We got good shots. We just missed a lot of easy shots."
Streamwood (0-4) turned the ball over 21 times and went 11-for-40 from the field.
Krissy Kunavich's 11 points and 7 rebounds led the Sabres. Emma Schmidt added 6 points.
Parhas finished with 11 points to lead Lake Zurich. Allen and Bauer each added 10 points. Bauer also had 6 rebounds.
-- Brian Schaumburg