Huntley, Hampshire make holiday strides

Progress.

That's what most basketball teams look for at holiday tournaments and Huntley's girls definitely made some at Montini.

The Red Raiders went 3-1 at one of the top Christmas tournaments in the state, taking fifth place in the tough 16-team field. Huntley opened with a win over Batavia 43-37 before losing to Montini 63-33, but then came back and beat Geneva 66-63 in double overtime and Neuqua Valley 47-44. Geneva and Neuqua are leading their respective divisions in the Upstate Eight Conference.

"I was really pleased with the effort we showed over there," said Huntley coach Steve Raethz, whose team is now 10-4 for the season after winning 7 of its last 8 games. "We played four real quality teams and the kids were able to grind out some wins in some tough games. I was very pleased to walk out of there 3-1. Earlier in the season when we lost three in a row we had leads in the fourth quarter of all three games and lost those leads and those games but at Montini we were in those situations again and showed much better mental toughness. Hopefully we can use that experience for the second half of the season."

It's no secret that Huntley's main weapon is 6-foot-2 junior Ali Andrews. The Illinois recruit is averaging 21.5 points per game and this week's Fox Valley Player of the Week scored at a 23.5 clip in the four games at Montini. Returning point guard, junior Kayla Barreto, has also stepped up her scoring this season but Raethz pointed to the continued improved play of 5-11 sophomore Morgan Clausen as being a key to his team's surge the past eight games. Clausen is averaging 7.3 points and 5.9 rebounds per game.

"We knew the experience Ali and Kayla and Jessica Brock brought back but the other players have had to fill roles and Morgan Clausen has done a great job of stepping in," said Raethz. "She's emerged as a scoring threat and she's done some real positive things for us. She's gained a lot more confidence with what she needs to do. And Kayla has been outstanding, too. She's really understanding she has to be more of a scorer. The whole team in general is understanding their roles and what they need to do for us to be successful."

Things don't get any easier on the schedule either. At 2-0 in the Fox Valley Conference Valley Division, the defending division champs get back to it Friday night when they play at Jacobs. That precludes a noon Sunday game in the Chicagoland Invitational Showcase at Fremd against Kenwood Academy of Chicago. For comparison's sake, Kenwood beat South Elgin 52-32 at Montini; Huntley beat South Elgin 58-45 in the season opener Nov. 19.

"Kenwood is a very athletic very quick team with solid guard play," Raethz said. "It will be a tough challenge for us on Sunday but we're looking forward to playing in that showcase."

Next week, the Red Raiders host Crystal Lake South (3-0 FVC Valley) on Tuesday and Cary-Grove (2-1) on Friday in games that could go a long way to determining the division front-runner, then it's off to the MLK Tournament at DeKalb on Jan. 17 and 19. Huntley got the No. 4 seed in that tournament behind Stevenson, Morgan Park and Hinsdale Central and will take on Peoria Notre Dame in the first round at 10:30 a.m. on Jan. 17. Each team gets four games in the two-day event.

"There are some real quality teams at DeKalb," Raethz said. "We're looking forward to that competition. It's a tough stretch of games and we'll have to stay focused and mentally prepared. But right now our biggest goal is to move forward in our conference play and contend for that championship again."

More progress: Hampshire is another team that made progress over the holidays. The Whip-Purs made it to the championship game of the Lisle Holiday Cage Classic before falling to Antioch 59-31, a loss that snapped Hampshire's winning streak at 8.

"(Antioch) played real well and we didn't play our best game and that's not a good combination," said Hampshire coach Mike Featherly. "Overall it was a good tournament for us. We got to play and beat St. Edward and that game had (regional seeding) implications."

Hampshire has flourished even without senior forward Tricia Dumoulin, who tore an ACL in the Whips' Dec. 13 win over Palatine and is out for the season.

"It was a tough break for her," said Featherly of Dumoulin. "It's her senior year and she was working so hard. We used her in a lot of different spots. It's a big loss for us. But we've had some girls step up. We brought (sophomore) Megan Heine up and (sophomore) Peyton DeChant is back from a concussion and they've both stepped up."

Hampshire's leading force has been 6-2 junior Emma Benoit, who averages 15 points per game and could hit the 1,000-point mark for her career before the season's over.

The Whips' upcoming schedule will be challenging. They play at Prairie Ridge (11-5 overall) at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in a battle of FVC Fox unbeatens, then next Tuesday they host Sycamore in a nonconference game between two teams that figure to contend for the Class 3A Sycamore regional title next month, one of the toughest 3A regionals in the state that includes Burlington Central and St. Edward.

"That's going to be a real good challenge for us," said Featherly of Sycamore, which finished second to York at the Oswego East Christmas tournament and is 13-2 for the season. "We're in such a tough regional. We could be at the top of the FVC and be a No. 4 seed in the regional. Our schedule has been tough so far and we've got some tough games ahead of us."

Kyles good to go: Larkin sophomore guard Marlee Kyles is expected to be back on the court Friday night when the Royals travel to Geneva for an Upstate Eight River game. Kyles missed the Oswego East tournament serving a one-week suspension as a result of being ejected from Larkin's Dec. 18 loss to St. Charles North. The IHSA only requires an ejected player to miss one game but Larkin coach Ruben Flores decided to impose a full week's suspension on Kyles if for nothing else to make a bit of a statement.

"The ejection from the St. Charles North game was not representative of Larkin girls basketball," said Flores. "I spoke to her and her mother in regards to the incident and for the good of the program and how we want our players to represent themselves, the school and the program I suspended her for the week.

"We are trying to change the culture and the perception of the program. In the past and still in the present teams from Elgin, regardless of the school (Larkin or Elgin) are perceived erroneously as being undisciplined roving thugs and it also appears the officiating has been biased in that regard. The official (at St. Charles North) got into a discussion with Marlee without advising me as to the situation, which exasperated the situation even more. But I've talked to Marlee about our expectations, she came back to practice on Monday and she's ready to go. In her defense, she had lost a couple of family members that week and it all kind of boiled over for her."

City Classic time: The Elgin City Classic kicks off Saturday at 4:30 p.m. when Elgin (2-12) plays at Larkin (3-12). The Royals won the first meeting between the two 56-33 on Dec. 11. On Monday night, Larkin will play at Harvest Christian, which then plays at Westminster Christian on Jan. 17. On Jan. 19, Elgin plays Harvest and Larkin takes on Westminster, both games being at Westminster, and on Jan. 20 Elgin plays at Westminster.

To clarify a record: Dundee-Crown's Kiwaun Seals' 42 points against Cary-Grove Tuesday night broke the D-C record for most points in a boys game but not the school record for most points in a game. That record is 45, set by Michelle Russell in 1991 against Crystal Lake South. Russell, also D-C's all-time career scoring leader for boys or girls with 1,735 points, is now the head sophomore girls coach at Huntley.