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Huntley's Andrews always put her team first

Watching Ali Andrews play basketball for Huntley this season created one common theme, one opposing teams hated to hear.

She's only a junior.

Not only has Andrews now played in 95 varsity games for the Red Raiders, but her team has won 81 of them.

Remember two words in that previous sentence because you'll be reading those two words a lot in this article.

Her team.

If there's one thing Andrews is and always has been about first and foremost it's her team. She has the ability to take over virtually every game she plays in but driven by her dad Chet's constant reminders that there is no I in team, the 6-foot-2 Illinois recruit did everything she could to empower her teammates with a sense of togetherness. That transcended into a school record 28 wins this season, the team's second straight Fox Valley Conference Valley Division championship, third straight regional title and second sectional crown in three years.

"She's an incredible teammate," says Huntley coach Steve Raethz. "She's extremely unselfish. For all of her individual accolades and success, the most important thing to her is our success as a team."

For her performance this season Andrews has been selected, for the second straight year, as the honorary co-captain of the Daily Herald's Fox Valley All-Area team for girls basketball. She shares the honor with Burlington Central senior Alison Colby.

The numbers Andrews put up this season were staggering. She scored a school record 694 points, averaging 21 per game. She scored a school record 34 against South Elgin in the season opener and never scored less than 10 points in a game all year. She also averaged 8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 2.2 steals and 2.1 blocks per game. She made 50 percent of her field goal attempts, including hitting 37 3-pointers, and she shot 89 percent from the free throw line (131-for-148).

The Associated Press first team all-state selection will enter her senior season with 1,805 career points, already a Huntley record, and if she scores at the clip she did this year she could become the all-time leading scorer in Fox Valley history, a mark held by former Bartlett and Notre Dame star Lindsay Schrader, a three-time all-area captain who scored 2,422 points in her high school career.

"This year in particular and each year since she's been here she added to her skill set," Raethz said of Andrews. "She led by example and she's a real model of what you need to do in the offseason to improve. Other than her sister Sam (who Ali shared the captain's honor with last year) I don't think I've ever coached a girl who worked harder from a leadership standpoint.

"She's a winner and she loves to compete. She has a real drive for her team to be successful."

And this season was her first without her sister Sam by her side. Sam just completed her freshman season at Truman State and with her departure to college, Ali knew she'd have to take on a new role for the young Red Raiders this season, that of a vocal leader.

"Basically I had to change my role on the team and be more of a leader on and off the court," she said. "That was a big thing, getting everyone more involved and to work together more as a team. I've looked up to other people like Sam and Haley Ream and now it was my turn to step up and be the leader and be more vocal."

At the same time Andrews, who plays for the Midwest Elite AAU team, worked to develop her game, for her present team and for her future. She figures to play more of a 3-4 position at Illinois as opposed to the post presence she is in high school.

"This year her ability to make shots off the dribble has really elevated her game," Raethz said. "She was the primary focus of every defense we saw and she still found ways to score. She did an incredible job of being patient and letting the game come to her."

"I just want to get better and be the best player I can be for the next level," said Andrews, who added she felt she got mentally tougher this year as well. "High school is a lot of fun, playing with your friends, and it makes you a better person. I want to be able to fulfill different roles, be a leader on and off the court and be a good teammate."

While she credits her teammates and her parents for their roles in her success, Andrews has formed a bond with Raethz,

"I've been with him for three years and he's unlike any other coach I've ever been with," she said. "He's been there for me on and off the court and he's a good guy in general, he's a good teacher and a good coach. He never gives up on you. He pushes me to my limits and he wouldn't push me like he does if he didn't think I could get better.

"I've been playing with Huntley and Raethz for so long it's crazy to think I've got another year left."

Crazy good, that is, unless you're a coach whose team is on Huntley's schedule next year.

Images: Daily Herald All-Area Team Captains, Basketball

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