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Andrews scores 28, lifts Huntley over Batavia

In a 16-team holiday tournament, the first-round clash between the Nos. 8 and 9 seeds promises to be competitive.

On the down side, the winner has to face the top seed in the quarterfinals.

Friday morning at the Montini Christmas Tournament, Huntley junior Ali Andrews, who has orally committed to Illinois, pumped in 22 of her game-high 28 points in the opening half to propel the Raiders past Batavia 43-37 in Lombard.

Huntley (8-3) will meet host Montini Saturday afternoon.

Batavia (6-9), the No. 9 seed, will meet Zion-Benton, which fell to Geneva, in the consolation bracket.

Andrews, the Raiders' standout junior forward, single-handedly outscored the Bulldogs in the first quarter to stake the team to a 16-9 lead.

Andrews scored all but two of the Raiders' points in the quarter.

"I thought Ali Andrews had a really nice game," said Huntley coach Steve Raethz. "She got the offense off to a great start. She really set the tone for the rest of the game."

"Ultimately, (we) could not overcome the first-quarter deficit," Batavia coach Kevin Jensen said. "(We) found ourselves trailing by as many as 14 points in the second quarter."

Andrews' game-high 28 points included 3 field goals from beyond the arc.

The Raiders also had to contend with neutralizing Batavia post Hannah Frazier.

In the low-scoring contest - there would be only 33 combined points in the second half after Huntley entered the break with a 28-19 lead - the respective stars accounted for more than half of their team totals.

Frazier, who collected a game-high 8 rebounds, scored 19 points for the Bulldogs.

"I was really pleased with how we defended against (Frazier)," said Raethz. "Hannah Frazier is a really good player, but we made her work for her shots and earn her points."

The Raiders not only were able to slow down Frazier but also limit any collateral damage from the other Batavia starters.

The Bulldogs' Bethany Orman drained two 3-pointers for 6 points, and Morgan Erickson had an equal number of points on 3 conventional field goals.

"Morgan Erickson had one of her best games as a varsity player," Jensen said.

But no one else on Batavia was able to manage more than 2 points.

"I thought we did a nice job (defensively)," Raethz said.

The Raiders face perennial state contenders Montini in the quarterfinals.

"We have a really tough test," said Raethz. "It will be a great challenge."

Morgan Clausen and Kayla Barreto combined for 11 points for the Raiders.

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