Huntley settles down, knocks off Cary-Grove
Losing the lead in the third quarter didn't bother Huntley.
After Cary-Grove took just its second lead of the game late in the period, the Red Raiders answered with a 12-1 run extending well into the fourth quarter and held on to beat the Trojans, 42-36, in Fox Valley Conference action in Huntley.
Kamsi Nwogu scored 18 points for Huntley (3-3, 1-1). Nicole Flaherty added 11 off the bench. Madison Wash had 4 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists. She completed an old-fashioned 3-point play at the end of the third period that put the Red Raiders ahead to stay.
Emily Lukowski had 19 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists for Cary. Lilliana Kurth added 10 points and 6 boards.
The key to the Raiders' comeback was just taking care of the ball.
"We had an 8-point lead in the first half. We lost that with some turnovers, but I thought our kids really responded in the second half and took better care of the basketball," said Huntley coach Steve Raethz. "In the first half we had too many empty possessions, but in the second half we gave ourselves opportunities. And I was really pleased with our defensive effort down the stretch."
Huntley never trailed in the first half, leading by as many as 10 points. Cary's full-court pressure rattled the Raiders at times, leading to some easy buckets. But when the Raiders beat the pressure, they got some equally easy layups at the other end.
Kurth hit a pair of 3-pointers late in the first half, the second of which got Cary within 25-23 at the break.
The teams traded baskets until a 3-pointer by Lukowski gave Cary its first lead, 29-28.
Wash was Huntley's unsung hero.
"Madison Wash really stepped up for us in the fourth quarter," Raethz said. "She had an "and-1" that was huge, got a key rebound and knocked down some free throws for us."
"We just failed to execute," said Cary-Grove coach Tony Moretti. "The kids played hard, we just struggled with our execution tonight.
"In terms of our press, we gave up too many easy baskets."
Led by Lukowski, the Trojans outrebounded the Raiders, 23-15, forced 24 turnovers, and made 15 of 18 free throws. But they couldn't make enough shots from the field, shooting just 27%. The Raiders, meanwhile, made 19 of 37 field-goal attempts.