Crystal Lake South wins, showdown with Huntley set
Crystal Lake South's agenda was simple.
Defeat Cary-Grove and earn a chance to host Huntley Tuesday with at least a share of the Fox Valley Conference Valley Division girls basketball championship on the line.
It wasn't easy, but the Gators got the job done.
With three players in double digits, South was able to survive against pesky and determined Cary-Grove 51-44 in Cary Saturday afternoon.
"We know every game in the Valley is a tough one," said South coach Mark Mucha. "We weren't looking ahead to Huntley on Tuesday at all. We knew Cary-Grove, even without a great player like (Katie) Barker, was going to play us tough. They are very well-coached and we knew we had to play four quarters of good basketball. We did and got a good win."
Junior forward Chanel Fanter led the Gators (18-7, 8-1) with 17 points, 6 assists and 8 rebounds.
"It was a tough physical game," said Fanter. "Cary-Grove is very well-coached and we were able to handle their pressure. When they overplayed me I was able to find the open player. We are looking forward to playing Huntley."
Fanter got plenty of help from her teammates as Kianna Clark and Annika Sevcik scored 11 points each.
Cary-Grove (9-15, 3-7), playing without senior guard Katie Barker (knee injury), who may be back for the postseason, was led by Candace Cunningham with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Alli Josefowicz, who has missed most of the season with a broken collarbone, added 16 points with four 3-pointers.
"Candace has really played well lately," said Trojans' coach Rod Saffert. "It is good to have Alli back. She gives us a 3-point threat. The first half we played good basketball; we took five charges. But we need to play four quarters."
The game was closely contested most of the first half until the Gators were able to bust out to a 7-point, 21-14 lead on a putback from Clark with 2:22 left before halftime.
Cary-Grove fought back and took a short-lived 32-31 lead on a putback by Cunningham with 3:11 left in the third quarter.
The Gators grabbed the lead for good, 33-32, on a putback by Sevcik with 2:40 remaining in the quarter.
The Gators, who made 18-of-25 from the free throw line, enjoyed their biggest lead of the game at 45-36 on 2 free throws by Fanter with 6:50 remaining in the contest.