Huntley's Clausen reaches 1,000 in regional loss

MACHESNEY PARK - Bittersweet feelings flowed through Huntley senior Morgan Clausen as her high school career came to a close.

On a positive note, Clausen tallied 18 points in Wednesday night's Class 4A Harlem regional semifinal against Hononegah to become the fifth female in school history to eclipse the 1,000-point career mark.

However, Clausen's solid performance wasn't nearly enough as the No. 2 seed Indians buried 12 3-pointers en route to securing a comfortable 52-26 victory.

Hononegah (24-6) advanced to Friday night's regional championship game against No. 3 seed Rockford East while Fox Valley Conference co-champion Huntley closed out its season 17-13.

"It was definitely one of my goals to get 1,000 and I'm glad I reached it, but I would have much rather had the win and continued postseason play," said Clausen, as the Red Raiders had captured regional titles in 8 of the last 10 seasons.

Clausen, who will play for Brown University next year, joined Ali Andrews, Sam Mader, Sam Andrews and Meghan Staley-Gamble in the Red Raiders' 1,000-point club.

"I'm proud of Morgan for what she's accomplished," said Huntley coach Steve Raethz. "She's very deserving of that 1,000-point honor and she's worked very hard on her game to put herself in that position."

Huntley got off to a solid start, leading 6-4 midway through the opening quarter, but Hononegah cranked up the defensive pressure and the trifecta barrage soon followed.

The Indians went on an 18-1 run thanks to six 3-pointers in a five-minute span, then put the contest out of reach by scoring the first 10 points of the second half.

"They have so many weapons offensively and so many kids who can shoot it," Raethz said. "We dug ourselves a hole there in that four minute stretch where it got away from us and it was tough to get it back."

"In the first quarter we got off to a good start and at 10-7 it was a very reachable game, but in the second quarter we had some early turnovers and they did a great job capitalizing," Clausen added.

While Grace Gajewski and Missy Moffett combined for 25 points in Huntley's quarterfinal win over Harlem Tuesday, the team combined for just 8 points outside of Clausen on 3 for 24 shooting.

"We really weren't able to get much going outside of Morgan. We had that (Tuesday) night with three players in double figures and we needed that again tonight," Raethz said.

Meghan Matuska connected on five 3-pointers to lead Hononegah with 17 points while standout sophomore Jordan King posted a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

"We struggled a little bit knocking down our shots early in the year, but we're shooting better and playing a lot better now," Matuska said.

"It's a sour way to end the season, but Hononegah is a very deserving team." Raethz said.

Along with Clausen and Gajewski, Kaylee Andrea, Abbey Brown, Maddy Moffett, and Ashlyn Schlapia closed out their Huntley careers.

"I'd like to acknowledge our six seniors for all the hard work, effort and dedication they've put into our program the last four years. They will be missed," Raethz said.